By KOJI TAKAHASHI/ Staff Writer
October 9, 2024 at 07:00 JST
NARUTO, Tokushima Prefecture—The Otsuka Museum of Art here is offering a rare chance to dive into the world of great paintings—literally.
Until Nov. 4, visitors can don costumes mimicking the subjects of famous historical paintings and participate in photo shoots on similarly decked out sets.
"We'd like visitors to feel like jumping into the world of the paintings," a museum representative said.
The museum's "#Art Cosplay Festival 2024" has combined highbrow masterpieces with everyday fun since its first installment in 2017.
Now in its eighth year, the popular cosplay event has added two botanically inclined scenes with artificial flowers and plants alongside real trees and other dressings.
The backdrop of French painter Jean-Honore Fragonard's "The Swing" is 5 meters wide, 4.3 meters tall, 3.7 meters deep and heavy on the Rococo.
Another whimsical garden 6.2 meters wide, 3.5 meters tall and 2.7 meters deep recreates "Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose" by American artist John Singer Sargent.
Not all pieces feature humans, however.
Netherlands-born Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" has visitors transforming into the flowers and buds. With headpieces and props that scream "greatest school play ever," this set is for fine art's sillier appreciators.
Other works include Edouard Manet’s "The Fife Player," Paul Cezanne's "Still Life with Apples and Oranges" and Johannes Vermeer’s "Girl with a Pearl Earring."
The experience is included with admission. Costumes can easily fit over clothes and are suitable for children and adults.
Museum tickets are 3,300 yen ($23) for adults, 2,200 yen for college students and 550 yen for elementary to high school-age students.
The museum is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; tickets are not sold after 4 p.m. and the venue is closed on Mondays unless stated otherwise.
Additional information can be found on the museum's official website (https://o-museum.or.jp/en/).
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Visitors pose as Vincent van Gogh’s "Sunflowers." (Provided by the Otsuka Museum of Art)
