Joongwon Jeong, hyperrealist artist

Amazing likeness: Joongwon Jeong, 25, creates hyperrealistic portraits of people from ancient times who have never been photographed. Here he is working on a painting of Greek poet, Homer.

MANY people have been fooled, but the experience is that of a nice surprise. When you look at Joongwon Jeong’s portrait of Sir Ian McKellen, you’d think it’s a large photograph of the famous actor. Certainly no painting can capture such minute details on his face – the fine lines; the light playing in his eyes; the soft, wavey strands of his grey hair. Even the blue shirt he has on under a jacket is striking with its finely rendered texture.

But Jeong did paint it. The 25-year-old South Korean hyperrealist artist has also painted similarly impressive portraits of Robert Downey Jr, his own grandfather, and even Greek poet Homer, who had, of course, never been photographed.