You’ve found the hidden famous art included and hinted at in the book What if Wilhelmina by Joseph Belisle! Learn more about these great works and the artists who created them in the guide below.
Inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles
Vincent Van Gogh painted A LOT in his lifetime. He created over 2000 works of art and almost 900 of those creations were oil paintings.
He was born in the Netherlands in 1853 but lived and worked in France for much of his life.
No one thought Van Gogh’s work was very good and that upset him. It wasn’t until after he died that people started to appreciate and buy his artwork. Today, his paintings sell for lots of money and his work can be found in museums all over the world. He even has a museum in Amsterdam dedicated exclusively to his work called The Van Gogh Museum.
His famous painting Bedroom in Arles can be seen at the Art Institute of Chicago. It is referenced in What if Wilhelmina as the girl’s bedroom and art studio.
Inspired by Andy Warhol’s Marilyn portraits
Andy Warhol was a very busy man during his lifetime – he was an artist, film director and producer. He is mostly known for being very influential in the Pop Art movement that began in the middle of the 1900’s. He founded a magazine and even started an art college called the New York Academy of Art.
He was a talented painter, print-maker and illustrator as well as a style maker and keen observer of people. His colorful portraits of famous people influenced the portraits of Wilhelmina that are seen in the girl’s bedroom.
Warhol’s work can be seen in museums all over the world but many pieces can be found at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.
The Andy Warhol Museum in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania also features his work.
Inspired by Banksy’s Balloon Girl Mural
Banksy is a street artist, political activist and film director. But, the surprising thing about this very creative person is that nobody really knows who Banksy really is! He -- or she -- chooses to work anonymously and most of their public murals are done in the middle of the night. People think this person is British because a lot of their art is found in Great Britain but their work is also found all over the world, including America.
Banksy, who started out as a graffiti artist, is a great prankster known for a wicked sense of humor. One time, a signed copy of Girl with Balloon, in a big, fancy frame was sold at a famous auction house. After it was sold, the print began to move downward and it was partially destroyed. Banksy had hidden a shredder inside the frame and after the print was sold Banksy started it by remote control!
Girl With Balloon is used in What if Wilhelmina to help tell the tale of the girl’s broken heart. If you look at the balloon – you see it is a heart that has escaped – much like the girl in the book feels her heart is missing as she searches for her cat.
Inspired by Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn Rembrandt is best known by his first name, Rembrandt. He is one of the world’s most important and admired artists. Born in the Netherlands in 1606, he became very famous and wealthy but spent more than he had and he died poor.
He painted many different subject matters in various styles but he is most famous for depicting scenes from the Bible and for his beautiful, realistic portraits using a technique called Chiaroscuro.
Rembrandt’s works can be found all over the world but the famous sea-scape, Storm on the Sea of Galilee, referenced in What if Wilhelmina, was used because it best describes how the little girl is feeling at this moment in the story. She is feeling very worried and lost in a terrible storm.
Sadly, this priceless painting was stolen from the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum in Boston. The burglars crudely cut the painting out of its frame during the robbery. The empty frame still hangs on the wall of the museum.
Inspired by Edvard Munch’s The Scream
Edvard Munch lived a long life but he worried a lot. Born in Norway in 1863, he was a sickly child who often stayed home from school. To keep himself busy while at home he would often draw and paint.
Edvard’s mother and older sister both died when he was young. Losing part of his family made him more worried and sad but he continued to create art and he became very good at it. Perhaps painting made him feel better?
Much of his work has a scary, haunting feel and it reflects how Munch viewed the world.
The Scream is now one of the most famous and recognizable paintings in the world. Munch liked it so much that he did four of them – two in paint and two in pastel. He also made a lithograph print of it.
Munch’s artwork can be found in museums all over the world but most of it can be found at the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway.
Inspired by Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker
Auguste Rodin is known as one of the world’s best sculptors. He was born in France in 1840. During his lifetime he became very rich by accepting commissions for his much-loved sculptures.
One of his most famous works is called The Thinker. A miniature copy of it can be seen in the family’s living room in What if Wilhelmina. Throughout the book, the little girl just can’t stop thinking about what has happened.
We don’t know what Rodin’s Thinker is pondering though he might be wondering where he lost his clothes?
Rodin’s work can be seen at museums around the world including The Met Museum in New York City, the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia and at the Musee Rodin in Paris, France.
Inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World
Andrew Wyeth, one of America’s most beloved artists and illustrators, painted with eggs. Yes, he painted with eggs and became very famous for using a technique called egg tempera. It is a process where the artist mixes powdered colors with egg yolks.
Wyeth was born in 1917 and he started drawing and painting at a very young age. He learned much from his father, the famous illustrator, N.C. Wyeth.
His most famous painting, Christina’s World, was the inspiration for the thunderstorm in What if Wilhelmina and it hangs today in the MoMA in New York City.
Andrew Wyeth’s works can be seen all over the world but the largest collections can be seen at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine and at the Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
Inspired by Rene Magritte’s The Son of Man
Rene Magritte’s famous painting, The Son of Man is the final classical piece of art featured in What if Wilhelmina.
Born in Belgium in 1898, Magritte became famous for his Surrealist paintings which are known for their thought-provoking images grouped in unusual ways; like in the The Son of Man painting where an apple is oddly floating in front of a well-dressed man’s face. In another painting called Golconda, Magritte shows dozens of men floating (or raining down?) onto buildings below.
Magritte’s work has helped spark the imagination of art lovers all over the world and Surrealism remains very popular today.
You can see his work at the Magritte Museum in Brussels, Belgium and at The Menil Collection in Houston, Texas.