Transforming the world’s greatest paintings into monumental street murals
Creating street murals from some of the greatest artistic works in the world is the key goal of a new project being unveiled today. Murals reMastered is a collaborative project between The National Gallery and Global Street Art.
It’ll see some of the world’s greatest paintings transformed into monumental murals in streets, neighbourhoods and in public spaces across the UK.
The project launches with a giant 40 square metre recreation of Henri Rousseau 1891 painting, Surprised! (Tiger in a Tropical Storm). You’ll be able to see it on Jamestown Road in London’s Camden.
The area has a 1.8 million monthly footfall and is just a stone’s throw from London Zoo – it will be the first in a series of striking, large-scale murals set to appear in towns and cities nationwide.
‘The National Gallery’s collection belongs to the nation, and through Murals reMastered we are finding new and imaginative ways to share it beyond the Gallery’s walls,’ says Sir Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery.
‘By bringing some of the world’s greatest paintings onto UK streets, neighbourhoods and everyday public spaces, we hope to spark curiosity, conversation and connection – reaching audiences who may never have encountered these works before.’
Spanning more than 700 years of painting, works from across the Gallery’s collection will be reimagined at extraordinary scale, bringing timeless masterpieces out of Trafalgar Square and into the public realm.
‘It’s an honour to recreate these artworks at such scale’
By placing these paintings in new contexts, the project aims to forge fresh connections between people and paintings. It’s been created by Global Street Art’s team of contemporary artists.
The unveiling follows both the Murals the Masterpiece Tour and Art On Your Doorstep initiatives which share major works with communities across the country.
The project aligns with Global Street Art’s mission to ‘Live in Painted Cities’ and the goal to bring public artworks to communities across the country. To date, they have produced over 3,000 public art murals.
It follows the success of Simone Martini’s Angel Gabriel (about 1326-34) mural on Fulham Road. It was painted by Global Street Art to commemorate the Gallery’s bicentenary exhibition Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300-1350.
Since its unveiling in December 2024, the mural has attracted an estimated seven million visits.
Supporters say the sheer number of people going to see it demonstrate that there’s a strong public appetite for experiencing historic masterpieces in contemporary spaces.
‘We’re proud to be producing Murals reMastered, a natural collaboration between the National Gallery and Global Street Art, which brings the worlds of classical and contemporary painting together at monumental scale,’ says Dr Lee Bofkin, co-founder and CEO of Global Street Art.
‘Our artists are amongst the best muralists in the world, many of whom have been hugely inspired by artists in the Gallery’s collection. It’s an honour to recreate these artworks at such scale.’
‘Brings the worlds of classical and contemporary painting together’
Organisers are inviting property owners, commercial landlords, local councils and community organisations to propose potential future mural sites.
They’re asking that walls are safely accessible, outward-facing, clearly visible to passers-by, and available for a minimum of three months.
Surprised! was the first of around 20 ‘jungle’ paintings that Rousseau produced, which are among his most popular works.
These jungles are entirely imaginary: Rousseau never left France, despite his claim that he had served with the French army in Mexico.
The foliage is a mix of domestic house plants and tropical varieties, which he had seen at the Botanical Gardens in Paris.
Breaktime News recently reported on how more than four million people saw a National Gallery painting in person in 2025.
