Ten years in the making, Hidden Portraits reinterprets historical paintings through a modern lens.

Using only elements from the original work, contemporary artist Volker Hermes visually manipulates famous Old Masters portraits, exploring expression when the face is obscured.

By blocking the emotions expressed by the face, Hermes invites viewers to observe ancient codes of fashion as symbols of self-representation and social status.

Then, with a contemporary perspective, great respect, and a dash of humor, Hermes layers the codes of our times over the codes of ancient times.

It was late in 2019 when international hype materialized around the Hidden Portraits Hermes had been creating for over 10 years (though he had just begun to share them with the world on Instagram). Their visual content - figures disappearing behind masks - perfectly and almost clairvoyantly directly reflect the current era.

Anyone who googles Volker Hermes will quickly surmise that the entire world has featured the Hidden Portraits over the last few years. International exhibitions, collaboration, and commission requests have followed.

Today, Hermes has been featured in Vogue multiple times, collaborated with Christie's, and been invited by museums to create works from pieces in their collections.

Hidden Portraits is an open collection, and will be added to periodically. Until recently Hermes has been creating Hidden Portraits as editions that are sold in the traditional art market. However, the pieces you see here are exclusively NFT’s. You will find both 1/1 portraits as well as editions. Each portrait also includes 5 properites to help you understand the context of the portrait. view properties

If you are interested in viewing availble Hidden Portraits for the traditional market, you may contact Bräuning Contemporary braeuningcontemporary.com