(Source: Maurice Bennett)

I tend to gravitate towards forward-thinking artists who maintain an appreciation for the classics. A good sense of humor doesn’t hurt, either! I can appreciate an artist who is able to have some fun while crafting their work.

The Mona Lisa is one of the most recognizable icons in art history and continues to be studied year after year. While searching for photo mosaic interpretations of the Mona Lisa, I found some pretty interesting mosaic-esque approaches to recreating this iconic work of art.

First up: more than 6,000 pieces of toast! With various sizes of bread, New Zealand artist Maurice Bennett created a 4.8m squared mosaic by toasting each slice with a blowtorch to adjust the shading. The mosaic was displayed in the K11 Mall in Hong Kong in 2010.

This next one should wake you up…the Mona Lisa recreated using 3,604 cups of coffee containing varying amounts of milk to create a range of sepia tones. Created by a team of eight people at the 2009 Rocks Aroma Festival in Sydney, Australia and measuring 20ft by 13ft. (Don’t worry, the milk and coffee used were both expired already!)

(Source: Marvelous)

Last, but not least, here’s one I’ve posted about in the past and fits best into the photo mosaic category: The Mona Lisa Masterpiece Mosaic. I couldn’t help but list this one here – it’s just so cool! Thirty individual handcrafted paintings of varying sizes were combined to recreate the Mona Lisa’s striking gaze. Check out the video below to watch the creation process!