Iconic Movie Characters Portrayed as 16th Century Lords and Ladies

Photography Tips

Photographer Sacha Goldberger doesn’t always shoot portraits of beloved film characters. But when he does, he makes them look like they’re from the 16th century:

In this portrait project, which is called “Super Flemish,” Goldberger had several main goals. The first was to find a unique way to portray superheroes, supervillains, and other famous film icons in a way that humanized them beyond their heroic nature. Inserting the characters into the 16th Century served this purpose and one other—it allowed many of these heroes something that they never actually get in their own worlds: vanity.

“The superheroes often live their lives cloaked in anonymity,” said Goldberger on the project’s page. “These portraits give them a chance to to fix their narcissism denied… and allow us to discover, under the patina of time, an unexpected melancholy of those who are invisible.”

Goldberger’s painterly lighting and composition techniques emphasize both the “nobility” and “fragility” of these characters, but nothing about the images speaks more loudly than the characters’ wardrobes. Depicting the characters dressed in their classic outfits along with pleated collars and other accessories from the 16th century, allows viewers to realize just how isolated and even “trapped” these icons may feel while saving or plotting to destroy their respective worlds.

“These characters have become icons to reveal their humanity: tired of having to save the world without respite, promised to a destiny of endless immortality, forever trapped in their character.”