Gear: Would You Trust These Renaissance Mechanics With Your Car?

Would You Trust These Renaissance Mechanics With Your Car?

By Michael Banovsky
November 9, 2015

Photography by Freddy Fabris

Modern mechanics as Renaissance art? This is the challenge that commercial photographer Freddy Fabris set for himself with “The Renaissance Series”. Perhaps Da Vinci and his peers had it easy: a painter is able to omit, adapt, and change forms as necessary. But with photography, it takes a true expert to compose, capture, and retouch in such a way that honors both past masters and current technology.

This is why Fabris has won awards for this series, and it’s difficult to not get sucked into each scene, noticing new details each time—like the hubcap “halo” in “The Last Supper”. Thanks to a chance encounter with a repair shop, Fabris was inspired to apply all of his skills to the most humble of tasks: fixing cars. It’s a far cry from the nobility Renaissance painters often captured, but the series is so compelling that I’ve been imagining what, say, Rembrandt’s take on car mechanics would have looked like. What do you think?

The Renaissance Series: The Last Supper by Freddy Fabris
One Eyeland Silver award (Pictured above)

The Renaissance Series: The Anatomy Lesson by Freddy Fabris
APA Conceptual award, One Eyeland Silver award

The Renaissance Series: The Creation of Adam by Freddy Fabris
First place, International Color Awards, One Eyeland Silver award

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Clayton Merchant
Clayton Merchant
9 years ago

Extremely clever and masterfully creative! I love them.
Perfect modern interpretations, I respect the photographers ability to take a mundane daily sight and turn it into art that was there all along. In life many times, it is difficult to see the forest for the trees.

Frank Anigbo
9 years ago

“Perhaps Da Vinci and his peers had it easy: a painter is able to omit, adapt, and change forms as necessary. But with photography, it takes a true expert to compose, capture, and retouch in such a way that honors both past masters and current technology.”

Most painters will take serious issue with this statement, especially when applied to the work of painters whose imagery these photographs draw from.

Nice pictures, though.

Christopher Gay
Christopher Gay
9 years ago
Reply to  Frank Anigbo

Well said, Frank.

Yes, serious, serious issue. I am going with the theory that this statement was simply not properly thought out, because it is so completely ridiculous on so many levels. I’m trying not to blow a serious, serious head gasket here, so I’ll just walk away and say…

Fun set of pictures. Thanks for sharing. 😉

To answer the question: they can keep the pipe wrench and sledge hammer away from my cars, thankyouverymuch. 😮

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