Photo of a Fight in the Ukrainian Parliament Looks Like Renaissance Art

 By 
Stan Schroeder
 on 
Photo of a Fight in the Ukrainian Parliament Looks Like Renaissance Art
Ukrainian lawmakers fight around the rostrum during the first session of Ukraine's newly elected parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. Credit: AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov

Sometimes, a photo is so perfectly framed it could be a painting. This is definitely the case with this photo of a fist fight in Ukrainian parliament, which could probably be hanging on a gallery wall next to a Caravaggio and most people wouldn't notice.

The harmonious composition of the photo seems to have been first noticed by Facebook user Manzil Lajura, who shared the original as well as a version showing that the photo conforms to the golden ratio principle. A third, photoshopped version has the photo framed like a painting.

From there, it was taken to Twitter by artist James Harvey, getting thousands of retweets along the way.

Someone took a candid photo of a fight in Ukranian Parliament that is as well-composed as the best renaissance art pic.twitter.com/BBhw6rdT3l— James Harvey (@jamesharveytm) August 6, 2014

The Guardian called the effect "accidental renaissance," adding another similar photo, this time of soccer player Frank Lampard, into the mix.

Another renaissance painting is this picture of Lampard after he scored following the death of his mum. pic.twitter.com/EVc5etb9x8— Dan Sully (@dan_sully) August 6, 2014

Of course, other Twitter users piled on with their own examples of renaissance-like photographs.

@dan_sully @rosieswash and this one's like Caravaggio's Taking of the Christ pic.twitter.com/n8DfPtRgRo— Paul MacInnes (@PaulMac) August 6, 2014

As for the equally intriguing subject matter of the photo, brawls in the Ukrainian parliament are far from a rare sight. In July, a fist fight broke over a decree which would allow more reservists to be called to defend the country against Russian troops.

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