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Incredibly Detailed Cityscapes Recreated from Artist's Memory

Netherlands-based artist Stefan Bleekrode has the incredible ability to work straight from memory and create newly-imagined but highly realistic cities. His series titled Cityscapes features places in the United States and Europe drawn in stunningly minute detail. Bleekrode's inked artworks include thousands upon thousands of windows on buildings, ornate architecture, and even people walking down the streets that are all done in a bird's eye view.

The artist describes his work as snapshots of things that he's seen when traveling or going through his daily routine. Sometimes, he'll draw a close representation of what a place is really like, such as Washington Square Park in New York City, but he'll make a few changes to the buildings. Bleekrode also combines elements of multiple cities into a single picture that conveys the feel of several places at once.

With his amazing knack for transcribing every little detail, it should come as no surprise that Bleekrode's works are labor-intensive. He writes that many drawings take him between four and five months to complete!

Above: City in Ireland

American City

Washington Square Park in New York City

City by the Danube River

Trams in Prague

City in Belgium

Three Bridges in New York City

City in Holland

Railway Station in a British City

London Terminal

New York City at Night

Stefan Bleekrode website

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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