Sylvester Stallone's titular character, Rocky Balboa, from the actor-producer's classic 1976 sports film "Rocky" gets an amazing recreation from official MGM Studios artist, John Rivoli, using a vibrantly-hued and collage-like painterly style.
A scene from the original 1976 "Rocky" film where its titular character squares off versus Apollo Creed, whose son later on receives a spin-off series of his own.
John Rivoli's 'The Chosen One' Painting
The piece was first shared by the action star on his official Instagram account, writing, "A fantastic painting by [John Rivoli] depicting Rocky's beginnings. As though he was chosen to make that enlightening journey."
Specifically, Rivoli depicts the widely-recognized beginning scene from the first-ever "Rocky" film, where the titular character squares off with his inaugural opponent, "Spider Rico."
With the piece's painterly quality and vivid brushstroke aesthetic, it takes on a resemblance to the freeze frame ending of "Rocky III."
This particular style is something Rivoli has cultivated across 20 years of experience in creating art for Hollywood, according to a release by Icons in Art.
Through his New York-based design agency, Rivoli Design Group, the artist has creatively contributed to famous characters like "Harry Potter," "Wonder Woman," "Batman," "Spongebob," "Scooby Doo," and of course, the "Rocky" series.
Rivoli himself is closely tied to the legendary sports film because MGM, the studio behind the movie, has been a close client of his since 2009. After years of collaboration together, Rivoli became the first "Rocky" art licensee in 2018 and essentially became an official "Rocky" artist.
Since then, Rivoli has continued to depict the iconic character and countless reinterpretations of his scenes, including the recent "The Chosen One" piece.
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'Rocky,' a Decades-Old Legendary Film Franchise
As it premiered in 1976, the film immediately collected immense notoriety and quickly cemented itself as a classic, which caused the easy greenlighting of its 1979 sequel "Rocky II." Afterward, it received an additional three direct successors with "Rocky V" being the last one in 1990.
The series later got a follow-up Stallone-directed drama movie in 2006, centering around Rocky's last fight leading to his retirement.
After a decade, the "Rocky universe" got another addition with the Michael B. Jordan-led "Creed," this time centering around Apollo Creed's son, Adonis.
Just like its spiritual predecessor, the launch of the "Creed" film gained significant notoriety and spawned multiple sequels. It has even been critically recognized with a Best Supporting Actor nod for Stallone who embodied a mentor version of Rocky in the movie.
The enduring success of the "Rocky" films is not only evident in its initial legacy series and the new spin-off movies but also through the paintings that artists like Rivoli create based on the eternally iconic freeze-frames of the film franchise.
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