The role of the portrait painter is becoming less prevalent in an age of instant digital photography.

Despite rarely having the scope to capture the intangible essence of a person, photographs are seen as a more accessible, easier to execute option to record famous figures.

In the political arena especially, the demand for contemporary images of leaders is more satisfied through the digital medium, with lighting, effects, and composition used to depict personas.

Yet go to any parliamentary building, and you will still see they are adorned with galleries of artworks showing generations of leaders. There remains something about official portraits that captures authority.

So at DesignCrowd, we wondered what it would look like if some of the most powerful world leaders sat for some of the great painters in history. How would the combination heighten the impact of the person on the audience?

Scroll down for some masterstrokes of design, or view all the artworks on the contest pages.

Vladimir Van Gogh





Artwork by RBJK515

Narendra Modi by Rembrandt

The Hillary Clinton





Artwork by DutchPuh

The Son of Jong-il





Artwork by christianpoetoe

Angela with a Pearl Earring





Artwork by CreArt

Bacchus Cameron





Artwork by artistraman

Princesse Dilma Rousseff





Artwork by SimNa

An Odd Couple

Trump in Pink





Artwork by TerryLea

Francois Bonaparte





Artwork by MsgtBob

Want More?

Our design community often votes to give political faces a new role in the world. Check out some of these contests:

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Kevin Bradford is a content editor at DesignCrowd with a background in journalism and digital production. Experienced in both writing and videography, he loves combining his skills to create captivating content across all multimedia channels.