Using nothing but his fingerprint, some oil-based ink and a canvas, American painter/photographer Chuck Close managed to recreate a portrait of his grandmother-in-law. Titled Fanny/Fingerpainting, the artwork dates back to 1985, and really captures the spirit of his late wife’s grandmother. This piece underlines why Close is famed as a photorealist; from a distance, Fanny/Fingerpainting looks like an actual photograph.

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Click here to visit Chuck Close’s website.

According to the National Gallery of Art:

Fanny/Fingerpainting, a portrait of Close’s grandmother-in-law, represents one of the largest and most masterly executions of a technique the artist developed in the mid-l980s. That technique involved the direct application of pigment to a surface with the artist’s fingertips. By adjusting the amount of pigment and the pressure of his finger on the canvas, Close could achieve a wide range of tonal effects. Typically, he worked from a black and white photograph which he would divide into many smaller units by means of a grid. He then transposed the grid onto a much larger canvas and meticulously reproduced each section of it. The result is a monumental, close-up view that forces an uncomfortable intimacy upon the viewer.

- National Gallery of Art