Improv Everywhere conscripted a man who looks quite a lot like King Philip IV as depicted in Velázquez’s famous painting to stand in front of the painting during its exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sign autographs. Did they fool anyone?
We got a wide variety of reactions from the patrons in the museum. Some stared bewildered, some laughed, some took photos, some wouldn’t stop asking questions. I’m not sure if we actually fooled anyone, at least not anyone who took the time to do the math at how old someone depicted in a Renaissance painting would have to be. Yet with my suit and the King’s costume, we did look pretty professional. We looked like we were supposed to be there. I overheard a few people guessing he was a modern day king, a descendant of the king in the painting.
(Improv Everywhere via Laughing Squid)
