Sorted masterpieces.

Pixel sorting is a technique where the pixels of an input image are sorted from darkest to brightest in one or two dimensions while keeping the same exact pixel values. That means that all the colors are kept exactly the same while the image gets the calmness of a gradient.

In case of the title image the pixels of an image of the Mona Lisa were sorted vertically, while keeping the horizontal position the same. You can still see the composition and colors of the original image.

Interestingly, the painting with the most variation and contrast make the smoothest gradients. For example, Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night with all its texture has enough different colors to form a very smooth gradient, while the visually calm Red Canna by Georgia O’Keefe creates a very contrastful, aggressive result:

Here are all eleven images, how many can you recognize?