Serge Gainsbourg considered popular music as a minor art compared to painting and sculpture. While record covers are true products of the pop culture, they sometimes borrowed to the fine arts. Numerous examples of sleeves are obvious imitations or reproductions of famous works of art, denoting either a genuine devotion or a deliberate attempt to gain artistic credit (or both). In return, some contemporary figures in the visual arts fairly understood the benefit in contributing, directly or not, to popular music, and thus reaching a much larger audience. How many rock fans discovered Andy Warhol with the famous Velvet Underground banana ? This website is about record covers and arts.

Irving Penn's corner portraits












Irving Penn

Marcel Duchamp (1948)

Lloyd Cole

Bad Vibes (1993)


Rousseau's snake charmer













Henri Rousseau

La Charmeuse de Serpents (1907)

Laurent Thibault

Mais on ne Peut pas Rêver tout le Temps

(1979)

Fleetwood Mac

Tango in the Night (1987)


Leonardo's Mona Lisa












Leonardo Da Vinci

Mona Lisa - La Gioconda (1503-06)

Suicidal Tendencies

The Art of Rebellion (1992)


Lichtenstein's explosion












Roy Lichtenstein

Explosion (1967)

Bob Dylan

Shot of Love (1981)


Flavin's fluorescent light












Dan Flavin

The Diagonal of Personal Ecstasy (The Diagonal of May 25) (1963)

Philip Glass

Einstein on the Beach (1993)


Warhol jazz













Andy Warhol

Money Tree (1957)

Jay Jay Johnson

Trombone by Three (1956)

Kenny Burrell

Volume 2 (1957)


Titian's Bacchus













Titian

Bacchus and Ariadne (1522-23)

Crash Test Dummies

God Shuffled his Feet (1993)

"Weird Al" Jankovic

Headline News / Christmas at Ground Zero

(Alternate Mix) (1994)


Doisneau's artist portraits












Robert Doisneau

Jacques Prévert (1955)

Thomas Fersen

Le Bal des Oiseaux (1993)


Botero's family












Fernando Botero

Una Familia (1989)

Baby Grand

Baby Grand (1977)


Burns' dark world












Charles Burns

Black Hole (1995-2005)

Fever Ray

Fever Ray (2009)


Delacroix's orphan












Eugène Delacroix

Jeune Orpheline au Cimetière (1824)

Pickering Pick

The Pacific Ocean (2007)


Depero's futurismo




















Fortunato Depero

Futurismo (1932)

New Order

Movement (1981)

Fortunato Depero

Dinamo Futurista (1933)

New Order

Procession (1981)


Basquiat's chalk drawings












Jean-Michel Basquiat

Untitled (Sugar Ray Robinson) (1982)

The Offs

First Record (1984)


Croner's taxi












Ted Croner

Taxi, New York Night (1947)

Bob Dylan

Modern Times (2006)


Goya's Saturn














Francesco de Goya

Saturn Devouring his Son (1819-23)

Trisomie 21

Chapter IV: Le je ne sais quoi et le presque rien

(1986)

The Obsessed

Lunar Womb (1991)


Margerin's rocker












Franck Margerin

Bananes Métalliques (1982)

Nino Ferrer

Rock 'n' Roll Cowboy (1983)


Magritte's lovers














René Magritte

Les Amants I & II (1928)

Funeral For a Friend

Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation

(2003)

Mars Volta

Frances the Mute (2005)


Buñuel's Andalusian dog












Luis Buñuel

Un Chien Andalou (1929)

Mr. Oizo

Lambs Anger (2008)


El Greco's Knight












El Greco

The Knight with His Hand on His Breast (1590)

Vangelis

El Greco (1998)


Giger's aliens













H.R. Giger

Alien (1979)

Shiver

Walpurgis (1969)














Island

Pictures (1977)

Danzig

III: How the Gods Kill (1992)

Emerson Lake and Palmer

Then and Now (1998)


Munch's scream












Edvard Munch

The Scream (1893)

Morgen

Morgen (1969)


Warhol's soup can












Andy Warhol

Campbell's Soup Can (1964)

The Housemartins / The Beautiful South

Soup (2007)


Bruegel's proverbs












Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Netherlandish Proverbs (1559)

Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes (2008)


Liberatore's RanX












Tanino Liberatore / Stefano Tamburini

RanXerox à New York (1982)

Frank Zappa

The Man from Utopia (1983)


Dali's crucifixion












Salvador Dali

Christ of Saint John of the Cross (1951)

Cliff Richard

About that Man... (1970)


Mapplethorpe's portraits of Patti Smith




















Robert Mapplethorpe

Self-portrait (1980)

Patti Smith

Horses (1975)

Patti Smith

Wave (1979)

Patti Smith

Dream of Life (1988)


Manet's luncheon














Edouard Manet

Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe (1863)

Bow Wow Wow

See Jungle! See Jungle!

Go Join Your Gang Yeah!

City All Over, Go Ape Crazy! (1981)

Mr. Oizo

Pourriture EP (2009)


Hirst's skull














Damien Hirst

For the Love of God (2007)

Boys Noize

Oi Oi Oi (2007)

Good Charlotte

Greatest Remixes (2008)


Hockney's composite polaroid II












David Hockney

Don and Christopher (1982)

Christophe

Aimer ce que Nous Sommes (2008)


Crumb's cartoon












Robert Crumb

Fritz the Cat (1969)

Big Brother and the Holding Company

Cheap Thrills (1968)


Delacroix's Liberty












Eugène Delacroix

La Liberté Guidant le Peuple (1830)

Coldplay

Viva La Vida or

Death and All his Friends (2008)


Keith Haring's Xmas

























Keith Haring

Mother and Child (1986)

Various

A Very Special Christmas (1990)

Various

A Very Special Christmas 2 (1992)

Various

A Very Special Christmas 3 (1997)

Various

A Very Special Christmas Live (1999)

Various

A Very Special Christmas 5 (2001)


Magritte's dusk












René Magritte

L'Empire des Lumières (1954)

Jackson Browne

Late for the Sky (1974)


Richter's candles












Gerhard Richter

Two Candles (1982)

Sonic Youth

Daydream Nation (1988)


Géricault's Medusa










Théodore Géricault

Le Radeau de la Méduse (1819)














The Pogues

Rum, Sodomy and the Lash (1985)

Great White

Sail Away (1994)

Ahab

The Divinity of Oceans (2009)


Warhol's boxes












Andy Warhol

Brillo Boxes (1969)

Moloko

Catalogue (2006)


Hockney's composite polaroid












David Hockney

Portrait of John Kasmin (1980)

Talking Heads

More Songs about Buildings and Food (1978)


Pollock's dripping












Jackson Pollock

Number 8 (1949)

The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses (1989)


Bosch's triptych









Hieronymus Bosch

The Garden of Earthly Delights (1504)













Pearls Before Swine

One Nation Underground (1967)

Deep Purple

Deep Purple (1969)

Dead Can Dance

Aion (1990)


Magritte's apple












René Magritte

La Chambre d'Ecoute (1958)

Jeff Beck

Beck-Ola (1969)


Clemente's black face












Francesco Clemente

Furniture (1983)

Mick Jagger

Primitive Cool (1987)


Andy Warhol portrait cover series


































Paul Anka

The Painter (1976)

The Rolling Stones

Love You Live (1977)

Liza Minnelli

Live at Carnegie Hall (1981)

Billy Squier

Emotions in Motion (1982)

Diana Ross

Silk Electric (1982)

Miguel Bosé

Made in Spain (1983)

Aretha Franklin

Aretha (1986)

John Lennon

Men Love Ave (1986)

Debbie Harry

Rockbird (1986)