Pup poses for great art

Courtesy Daily Mail

Many dog owners treat their animals is if they are human members of the family. 

But Elena Kolacheva, 37, from Pskov, Russia, went one step further by recreating classic artworks with the help of her pet dog Hanna, three. 

The Staffordshire bull terrier is pictured posing as Vincent Van Gogh in his famous self-portrait and as the Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer.

Other shots show Hanna recreating both the self-portrait of 18th-Century French painter Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin and Leonardo Da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine.

A fourth shows the dog wearing a wig to recreate a painting of a sea nymph by 17th-Century Flemish painter Michele Desubleo. 

Each image took no longer than five minutes to get the perfect shot, however the preparation for each required time and effort.

Ms Kolacheva used plasticine and a pen to create a dog friendly pipe for the self-portrait of Van Gough and a human hair braid was used for the sea nymph picture.

She said: 'We started reproducing the pictures by accident. I initially recreated Jan Vermeer "Girl with a Pearl Earring" for an online competition.

And it spiralled from there as I noticed Hanna is a natural!'

For the recreation of the portrait by Van Gogh, Ms Kolacheva said she used cardboard to make his green coat.

'I didn't have anything green either so I made Hanna a green coat using cardboard which I placed around her for the Van Gough image and carefully put the replica pipe in her mouth which she held on to - it is as if she knows it is for a photograph,' she said.

In another recreation, Ms Kolacheva posed alongside her dog as they appeared to sit at a table with glasses of wine.   

One image saw Hanna wear a pear of glasses, which Ms Kolacheva said she 'dropped about ten times'.

'I made her a pair of glasses our of plasticine which held up well on the end of her nose for the Dr.Dog by Michelle Hayden-Marsan,' she said.

Hanna learnt how to close her eyes on command during the shoots which she perfected for the 'Woman of the rain' by Svetlana Telets image.

Ms Kolacheva, who is a home maker, added: 'Hanna is treat motivated and has great self control so every photo took five minutes at most.

'It has been very interesting and fun.

'I've received a lot of great feedback so it is nice to see others appreciate all the hard work put in.'

The Russian posted the images on her Instagram account, @ladys_hanna_elena.