• Ariana Grande attended the Met Gala for the first time on Monday night.
• The theme was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination.
• She took the theme seriously and wore a dress that was covered in the same design as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
• Fans think she might be the next Met Gala theme queen.

Ariana Grande attended the Met Gala on Monday and she brought one of the night's best looks. Keeping in line with this year's theme, which was Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination, the "No Tears Left to Cry" singer showed up wearing a dress covered in the same design as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

She paired her instantly iconic gown, which was designed by Vera Wang, with an updo perched on the crown of her head à la her signature ponytail hairdo. As far as makeup goes, the singer took things to the next level with sharp winged eyeliner and a glowing highlight.

Although it was her first Met Gala appearance, Grande walked the Met steps like an old pro.

People are absolutely living for her ensemble.

In a turn of events, some people think Grande might have dethroned Rihanna as the theme queen of the event— for this year, at least.

And while it's not a competition by any means, Grande truly made her first Met Gala outfit one to remember.

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• Mark Ulriksen is an artist who has been called "maybe the most prolific painter and illustrator in San Francisco."
• He usually works in acryclic and gouache paint, but last October, he started creating art on an iPad Pro. 
• He says he picked up digital art because it "seems like that's what the art buying public is looking for."
• He also walks us through some of the flexibility advantages digital art has for working illustrators. 

Even if you don't know who Mark Ulriksen is, you've probably seen his work.

His "gracefully awkward" art has graced several magazine covers, including a widely praised New Yorker cover featuring Martin Luther King kneeling with Colin Kaepernick from earlier this year. 

But despite his success in the field with pen and paint, recently he's taken up a new challenge: Drawing with an iPad.

"I'm technologically illiterate and I'm still trying to learn how to paint," the San Francisco-based artist joked.

"But I really wanted to eventually work digitally because it seems like that's what the art buying public is looking for in the world of illustration these days, and I like the speed of it," he said. 

Ulriksen is just one of a new batch of professional artists who have embraced tablets like Apple's iPad and its Pencil stylus to make illustrations easier, faster, and more ready for the computers and screens most art is consumed on these days.

There was also a professional reason: the world is going digital. 

"For almost 20 years I did inside work for The New Yorker as well and then Condé Nast got a new creative director and it was out with the old in with the new and the new is all digital art," Ulriksen said. "So almost all the The New Yorker art these days save for a couple of people, it's digital."

So he ended asking some friends what he should get, and last October, he ended up buying an iPad Pro, Apple's $100 Pencil stylus, an app called Procreate, and started playing around. 

As soon as he started experimenting with digital art, he found out that a lot of the techniques he admired from a distance were actually pretty easy to pull off. 

"When I would see digital work in a publication, I go, 'how do they do that, how do they get that that texture, how do they get the splatter? How they get it to look so, you know, rough and tumble, because you know because I don't know how to do that as a painter so well," he said. 

After experimenting with every brush in Procreate, he had his answer. 

"And so all of a sudden it's like, it's the brushes! That's how they do it. There's texture brushes and there's splatter brushes and there's paint roller brushes," Ulriksen said. "Now I've learned that secret."

Victory cards

One of his first projects with digital art is a series of "victory cards." Every time the San Francisco Giants win, he recreates an old-school Topps baseball card in his signature style.

It's the continuation of a series that he stared back in 2014 — only back then, it was on ink and paper. 

"The season's coming up, why don't I redo the Giants baseball card idea but now I can do it in color and I can also use it as an exercise to try to learn this tool," Ulriksen said.

Since he already had some drawings from before, his process was a streamlined. He take a photo of his old work with the iPad, changes the opacity to make it lighter, and then makes a new layer and draws on top of it. "I've already got my black and white drawing and now it's just a matter of rendering it in color," he said. 

He uses the opportunity to experiment with texture, with focus, and with making hyper-flat images. He's also found that adapting work or making changes on the fly is much easier digitally than with paper or paint. "You do a painting you're kind of committed to the painting," he said. 

"I want to make it look like this is in shadow. I'm not really good at that as a painter. But with the iPad it's just like I'll just make it more of a transparent layer," he continued. 

Another advantage to digital art is that it makes follow-up pieces much more economical for working artists. Ulriksen recenly did a full-page piece for Mother Jones, but at the last moment, the art director realized the magazine needed a horizontal version for the website. 

"What might have taken a few days to do (with a smidgen more money and even less desire) instead took a little over an hour. I copied the art, placed it in the requested format and then added to the background," Ulriksen said. 

Check out some of his work below: 

Here's his most recent card. One of the cool things about Procreate is that it lets Ulriksen create time lapse images of his process.

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He draws a card every time the Giants win using an iPad.

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Most of the cards he draws are players from long ago. Dave Dravecky played for the Giants in the '80s.

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Some victory cards can take over two hours to complete; others can be completed in about 40 minutes. 

• Wall Street titan Bill Gross has apparently been outsmarted by his ex-wife.
• Sue Gross, who was married to Bill Gross for 31 years, managed to swap one of the couple's jointly owned Picasso paintings with a fake that she had created. 
• Sue Gross was awarded the painting, which hung in their home in Laguna Beach, in the divorce settlement, but admitted to taking it several months before. 
• It is now up for auction at Sotheby's with an estimate of $25-35 million.

Bill Gross' wife is much savvier than her ex-husband might have realized. 

According to the New York Post, Sue Gross, who filed for divorce at the end of 2016 after 31 years of marriage, fooled her ex-husband into thinking he was sleeping in the presence of a Picasso painting for several months after she swapped the priceless piece of art for a fake she had created herself. 

The painting, which is a 1932 Picasso entitled "Le Repos," is coming up for auction at Sotheby's New York on Monday, with an estimate of $25-35 million. 

The painting in question was jointly owned by the couple but was awarded to Sue Gross during the divorce settlement in August 2017. When Bill Gross came to arrange for it to be shipped to his ex-wife's home, she informed him that that wouldn't be necessary. 

During a testimony several months later, she admitted to taking the painting but claimed that Bill had told her to "take all the furniture and art that you'd like," the Post reported. 

"Well, you didn't take it and leave an empty spot on the wall, though, did you?” Bill Gross' lawyers asked.

"You replaced it with a fake?" they added.

Sue Gross reportedly removed the original painting and replaced it with a replica that she had created herself. According to the Post, she swiped a seven-foot, 300-pound rabbit sculpture as well.

Bill Gross is worth a reported $2.5 billion and is known as a legendary investor on Wall Street.

SEE ALSO: Investing legend Bill Gross says women have historically 'gotten the short stick' — then lists 6 positive qualities of men

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• Mondays can be hard.
• These pictures of poorly drawn cats will make your day better.
• Ainars, a cat owner and the man behind the Daily Purrr Instagram, told INSIDER that he just wants to make people smile.

Cats, to put it simply, are the best. As everyone knows, nothing quite solves a case of the Mondays (or the Any Days) like a cute, fluffy cat.

And, wouldn't you know it, there's an Instagram for that.

Enter: Daily Purrr, an Instagram that brings "stupid cat drawings" to your feed on a daily basis. Ainars, a 30-year-old graphic designer from Rezekne, Latvia, turned his passion for cats into a project. 

"I tried a lot of different concepts and ideas. After a lot of failed attempts and projects, I came up with the idea to draw silly and stupid cat drawings just for fun," he told INSIDER.  

Although Ainars personally owns two cats, most of his work is based on pictures that his followers submit. He creates his minimalist drawings in Photoshop.  

"The main idea behind Daily Purrr is to make people smile every day at least for a little moment," he said. 

Take a look at some of his most adorable creations — and make sure to swipe for the full effect!

In cats we trust.

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• On Tuesday, artist Felix d'Eon‏ accused Target of "stealing" one of his designs and putting it on a t-shirt. 
• "Is this how you support the queer Latinx community, @Target, by stealing the art of a gay Mexican artist?" d'Eon tweeted. 
• As of Wednesday morning, Target had pulled the t-shirt from its website — but had not publicly responded or apologized. 

Target is under fire after selling — then pulling — a t-shirt that appears to use a piece of art without the creator's permission. 

"Target stole a design of mine and printed it on a tshirt,"  artist Felix d'Eon‏ tweeted late on Tuesday. "Is this how you support the queer Latinx community, @Target , by stealing the art of a gay Mexican artist? I'm curious to hear what you have to say!" 

On Wednesday, when Business Insider went to view the "Pride Adult Short Sleeve Igualdad T-Shirt" on the retailer's online store, Target's website said that the product was "currently unavailable."

A cached version of the site shows the t-shirt being sold for $12.99. The description reads: "Pride T-shirt lets you show your support for the LGBTQ+ community."

D'Eon is selling a print that looks strikingly similar to the t-shirt design on his Etsy site for $60. 

Neither D'Eon nor Target immediately responded to Business Insider's request for comment. 

This isn't the first time that Target has been accused of ripping off artists' designs for products. In 2015, Melissa Lay accused the retailer of copying her #merica t-shirt design without her knowledge. Other retailers, including Urban Outfitters and ModCloth, have also been accused of similar actions in recent years. 

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• Sotheby's New York broke its own sales record this week when it sold a painting for $157.2 million at auction.
• The painting is by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, titled "Nu couché (sur le côté gauche)."
• The sale breaks the top 15 most expensive paintings ever sold via auction or private sale.

This week, Sotheby's New York broke its own sales record selling Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani's "Nu couché (sur le côté gauche)" for $157.2 million.

The work of art is Modigliani's largest piece — measuring 58 inches across, it was a part of his 1917 exhibition that redefined the fine art nude.

During Monday's Sotheby's auction other historic works were also up for purchase including Picasso's "Le Repos," which sold for $36.9 million, as well as Claude Monet's "Matinée sur la Seine."

Modigliani's "Nu couché (sur le côté gauche)" breaks the top 15 most expensive paintings ever sold during auctions and private sales, hedging out Gustav Klimt's "Adele Bloch-Bauer II," which sold for $150 million in 2016 during a private sale via Larry Gagosian.

Below, take a look at the most 15 most expensive paintings that have sold during auctions or via private sales.

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15. Jackson Pollock's "No. 5, 1948"— $140 million

Date sold: November 2, 2006

Price: $140 million

Type of sale: Private sale via Sotheby's

14. Francis Bacon's "Three Studies of Lucian Freud"— $142.4 million

Date sold: November 12, 2013

Price: $142.4 million

Type of sale: Christie's, New York, auction 

13. Gustav Klimt's "Adele Bloch-Bauer II"— $150 million

Date sold: 2016

Price: $150 million

Type of sale: Private sale via Larry Gagosian

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• A simple way to make your home beautiful is to fill it with artwork. However, buying and arranging art isn't so easy. 
• Minted's free art styling service makes the process less confusing and frustrating by providing you with a stylist who will take a look at your space and decide what art will look best in it.
• All you have to do is text 415-993-WALL (9255) to have a casual and helpful conversation about your wall art needs and preferences. 
• The whole process is even more convenient because the stylist will place the art pieces from the final rendering in your Minted cart so they're ready to purchase. 
• I tried it for myself and would recommend the service to anyone who has trouble deciding what artwork to buy for their walls. 

Decorating your home with art is intimidating and time-consuming. What colors look good together? Do you start with one piece and work from there or try to attack all the options at once? What about sizes and orientations? And don't even get me started on borders and frames. If your head is already swimming thinking about all these considerations, you probably suffer from design paralysis. 

Frankly, most of us don't have the eye or the experience to create a wall art arrangement that actually looks good, but to hire a specialist is usually out of our humble budgets. Thankfully, the kind people at Minted, the online marketplace where users vote on and purchase their favorite designs, have the solution — and it's completely free to use. 

Minted's free art styling service is as easy as texting a friend — a design-savvy friend with experience creating and curating art, that is. The process consists of a few key steps:

1. Text a picture of your wall to 415-993-WALL (9255) and answer a few simple questions.
2. Your Minted stylist will send back art recommendations that are suited to your wall. 
3. They'll then place the corresponding pieces in your Minted account's cart so they're ready to purchase at any time. 

The professional service simplifies a common dilemma that homeowners have while making the whole process friendly and enjoyable. You don't even have to buy anything in the end if you don't want to. 

I tried Minted's free art styling service myself to see what it could do for my dreadfully bare apartment walls and loved it through and through. Here's what you can expect when you text a Minted stylist:

Start by texting a photo of your space to the stylist phone number.

My bedroom is already filled with posters and photos, so I sent over an image of our living room, the walls of which are a perfectly blank canvas for the stylist to work on. I mentioned I was open to anything, as long as it looked good with our green walls and had some visual variety. 

In the photo, include your furniture for scale, as well as any current pieces you already have on your wall. Though I didn't do so here, Minted recommends you photograph your wall straight on and capture the entire width and height if possible. 

Your stylist will reply with a number of art pieces to get a sense of your style.

My stylist, Kim, initially sent over five options to consider. They ranged from the abstract (colorful, sweeping strokes) to the realistic (a nature macro photo). Based on my selections, she sent over six more options to choose from. 

All of the options were placed in my Minted account under 'Favorites.'

This way, I didn't have to look up the names myself in order to learn more about the pieces, and I could take my time looking at larger versions on a big screen if I wanted to. 

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• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff paid $7 million to buy a carving of the Hawaiian god Ku at auction.
• The Benioffs, who own land in Hawaii, donated the carving to Bishop Museum in Honolulu, where they felt it belongs.
• The carving arrived in Hawaii last month — just one week before the Kilauea volcano erupted. 

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff's love for the Hawaiian islands knows no bounds.

The San Francisco billionaire and island enthusiast purchased a rare carving of the Hawaiian war god Ku at a Christie's auction this past November. Benioff got in a bidding war and ultimately paid $7 million for the idol, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Benioff and his wife Lynne gave the statue to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, in an donation announced by the museum this week. 

“We felt strongly that this ki‘i belonged in Hawai‘i, for the education and benefit of its people,” Benioff said in a statement.

The 20-inch-tall carving, created between 1780 and 1819, has lived in a private collection in Paris since the 1940s. It's unclear how it got to Paris, though the museum said it resembles another idol which was brought back to Europe by British missionaries who visited Kona in 1822.

The statue was returned back to Hawaii about a month ago, just one week before the Kilauea volcano erupted. The timing was not lost on Benioff, according to the Chronicle. 

“It’s a spiritual item,” Benioff told the Chronicle. “It’s not really something that should be held to help the power of one person.”

Benioff, who owns a five-acre estate in Hawaii, has found ways to integrate Hawaiian culture into the day-to-day at Salesforce. "Ohana," Hawaiian for family, is a core tenant of the company's culture. The company also regularly invites Hawaiian singers and dancers to perform at conferences and events.

SEE ALSO: Marc Benioff has taken to wearing an American flag pin — what could it mean?

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Daniel Fahlström is a Swedish artist who goes by the name Huge. He makes hyper-realistic mylar balloon art that will trick your eye into thinking you can reach out and grab them. We spoke with Fahlström about his work and how he is able to make the balloons in his murals look so real. You can see more of his work on his Instagram and YouTube pages. Videos courtesy Huge, Waller Gallery and FlyMotion Fastighet. Following is a transcript of the video.

Huge: I'm based in Stockholm, Sweden. And I've been painting graffiti since '87. Nowadays I paint photorealistic mylar balloons style. I was having an exhibition in Stockholm and I came up with the idea, why don't I change the traditional graffiti letters into balloons.

I take real balloons to the place where the wall is. And I put them up and take some photos of them. I use photos as a reference. So the reflections you see in the balloons is mostly at the area where the wall is in the background. When I take the pictures, it's a reflection of me there, so there's no hiding.

When I do walls I only use spray cans. I can paint some details with my fingers and stuff like that. And when I do smaller canvases and stuff like that, I sometimes use air brushes. The technique comes from a lot of practice I guess. I don't think about it that much, I just paint. Well, I think you have to focus on where you put the details in the paintings. You can trick your eye if you paint say the background more blurry, they stick out more and pop up. The wrinkles are extremely important to paint. I'm trying to do a lot of sculptures. So that includes the balloon style. So I try to make sculptures as balloons also.

I really like the photorealistic style. I try to manage to make them as photorealistic as possible. I'm pretty fast when I work, so I can do a mural say about, four times five meters in maybe in two days. Something like that. Say eight hour days. Time flies when you're painting. Like you're in a bubble or something.

I have my own firm where I do custom paint. Like painting motorcycles and helmets and tracks and stuff like that. So there's where I get most of my income. It's mostly commission work nowadays. I don't have any murals painted aboard yet, as one request from New York. And a lot from south of the states like Texas and Louisiana. Also Canada and Honduras and Australia.

Well, I've seen a lot of reactions from people and the funniest one was when this old lady that wasn't wearing her glasses she was trying to go up and touch the balloons. And a lot of people do that. They go by and, "Well, I have to check that out." That's good if they think that's real balloons. That's my mission, to make them believe that.

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After a long work day, most of us happily collapse into a couch and binge-watch our favorite show.

But Linden Gledhill, a Philadelphia-based pharmaceutical biochemist, retreats to his basement lab. There, he builds custom gear so that he can record the beautiful, complex, and sometimes very weird intersection of science, art, and nature.

For example, Gledhill hacked an old hard drive into a camera shutter 10 times faster than anything in a store. He's also rigged up a machine to create snowflakes on demand and patented a super-resolution photography rig.

Gledhill uploads his experimental photos and video to Flickr, and art directors and producers take notice — not only because he's creative, but also because he's good. He's earned commissions for TV commercials and music videos, and most recently, high-tech prints of his photos were donned by fashion models.

For the past couple of years, Gledhill has been playing with a tiny dish of liquid that sits on a speaker. Called a cymascope, it's designed to create and tune repeating patterns of waves, like those formed in wine by rubbing the rim of a crystal glass to make it vibrate or "sing." These cyclical ripples, also called cymatics, travel far faster than human eyes can see, so he uses ultra-high-frame-rate cameras slow them down and record their secrets.

"It allows you to see the individual vibration states throughout the cycle. That's pretty cool. Typically you don't get to see that," Gledhill told Business Insider. "Typically what you see is a fixed pattern or a changing pattern based on the frequencies you play through the liquid."

Here's a look at some of Gledhill's newest experimental and hallucinatory imagery.

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Gledhill started experimenting with standard macro-photography camera gear. He took images of a roughly one-inch-wide, quarter-inch-deep dish of water vibrated by a speaker.

The camera peers down on the dish through a an LED light ring, which evenly illuminates the liquid in the dish. (In this case, malt whiskey.) The light ring is visible in a reflection at the center of this image.

Here's a photo of Gledhill's cymascope rig at his home.

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Matthew Burt's favorite Disney princess is Jasmine from "Aladdin." But it was time to give her an upgrade.

The North Carolina-based graphic designer, illustrator, and web designer reimagined Jasmine and other Disney princesses as modern women with careers based on their characters.

"The Disney princesses have grown to be more than just characters in a movie. They have become icons in modern culture and to many people, they are a source of inspiration," Burt told INSIDER.

"I wanted to create something that others might look up to," he continued. "It's important to show the princesses as strong women because of that influential role they have in society. Everyone should have something that inspires them — especially girls who may want to pursue a career in a traditionally male-dominated field."

Keep reading to see what your favorite Disney princess would be doing today, along with Burt's explanations for their career paths.

Snow White — leading psychologist

"Snow White has always been known for being caring, thoughtful, and someone willing to lend a hand to those in need. Using these strengths paired with hard work, she earned her doctorate in psychology and is one of the leaders in the field of mental health. She presents her research at conferences throughout the year but always takes time to provide the best care to her clients... whether they're feeling happy, bashful, grumpy, or anything else. It's her mission to not only help her clients but also support other mental health professionals so they can offer their clients top-notch care."

Rapunzel — neurologist

"Since birth, Rapunzel has always had the power to heal. After saving her future husband, Eugene Fitzherbert, and reuniting with her royal family, Rapunzel went to medical school and earned her doctorate. She specialized in neurology and has become a leading expert in the country. It's now her dream to help as many patients as she can and provide exceptional medical care."

Anna and Elsa — climate change scientists

"Elsa, Anna, and the citizens of Arendelle know a few things about the effects of climate change. While their companion Olaf may love summer, the sun, and all things hot, Anna and Elsa recognize what a rising global temperature might mean. They have dedicated their careers to studying climate change and presenting accurate, well-sourced information."

Bruce Worden is a scientific illustrator by day and a comic book creator by night. One of his projects, "Homophones, Weakly," is dedicated to visualizing "alike" words that we commonly get wrong.

INSIDER spoke to Worden about this punny project, which took five years to complete and comprises about 300 sets of homophone illustrations. 

Read on to see examples of his work and learn more about his artistic background.

"While I think spell-check software is amazing, anyone who relies on it as their sole means of catching mistakes leaves themselves vulnerable to homophone typos," Worden said.

A self-professed grammar nerd, Worden said that he noticed more and more of these typos appearing in professionally published writing. He envisioned "Homophones, Weakly" as a simple, flashcard-like resource. 

Worden, who studied scientific illustration at the University of Michigan, has been drawing his whole life.

"I always strived for realism, and going to art school really gave me a chance to hone those artistic skills and focus on becoming a scientific illustrator," said Worden, who creates illustrations for the Journal of Clinical Investigation. 

For Worden, the best part of scientific illustration isn't the realism — it's how the artwork helps tell a story and explains complex concepts in a clear way.

He began to apply the same philosophy to his personal work.

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• Selena Gomez has been teasing her upcoming music video by posting a series of photos with lyrics on Instagram.
• Many have pointed out that the photos bear a striking resemblance to the characteristic style of an artist who is popular on Instagram, Sarah Bahbah.
• Bahbah posted on her Instagram story that "well over 2,000" people have sent Gomez's photos to her and suggested that the singer was inspired by Bahbah's artwork.
• It's unclear whether Gomez has ever seen Bahbah's work.

Selena Gomez's music video for "Back To You"will drop tomorrow, but fans already have a pretty good idea of its aesthetic and tone. Gomez has been teasing the video with photos posted to her social media accounts, which feature the song's lyrics as captions layered on top of the images.

But while many fans are eagerly anticipating her newest visual endeavor, others have pointed out a striking similarity between the photos Gomez has posted and the characteristic style of another artist. 

Photographer Sarah Bahbah, whose work typically features text similar to subtitles, uses photo series to explore themes like trauma, adulthood, womanhood, love, and desire.

Though Bahbah's artwork has been displayed in major galleries from Los Angeles to New York City, she often posts her photos on Instagram, where she has garnered almost 550,000 followers — including celebrities like Katy Perry and Bella Thorne.

"Umm @selenagomez have you seen @sarahbahbah 's works? This is very very similar," reads a top comment with almost 5,000 likes on one of Gomez's posts.

"Like it's so clear...The style, the editing and even the captions. All of it just makes you think @sarahbahbah the second you look at these posts if you've been accustomed to Sarah's art for some time," wrote a critic on another post.

"This saddens me beyond relief. Why can't an artist support another artist instead of ripping off their craft? My head hurts for you @sarahbahbah," wrote another.

Hundreds of other comments strike a similar tone: "Why am I screaming @sarahbahbah at the top of my lungs 😂😂😂 at least say you were inspired by her fam. C'mooonnn;""kinda ripping off an artist where credit is due @sarahbahbah;""this is such a blatant ripoff of Sarah Bahbah it isn't even funny;""You literally could've just hired @sarahbahbah to do this lol."

While Bahbah has not explicitly agreed with these fans' allegations, she did post a photo to her Instagram story that acknowledged them. Bahbah wrote that "well over 2,000" people have sent her Gomez's photos.

It is not clear whether Gomez, who is the most followed person on Instagram, has ever seen Bahbah's work.

It may be worth noting, however, that Bahbah has collaborated with Gucci, while one of Gomez's best friends and favorite artists is noted Gucci ambassador Petra Collins, who directed Gomez's "Bad Liar" music video. Both women have also worked with Dylan Sprouse.

Naturally, Gomez's loyal fanbase has leaped to her defense. Some fans even took it upon themselves to reply individually to critics who commented.

Many have pointed out that it's difficult to claim that Gomez is "copying" or "ripping off" Bahbah, since the photographer does not have a monopoly on subtitles.

"I'm so sick of all you little s---- saying she copied that nobody Sarah bla bla that arrogant s--- didn't invent text on an picture she can't claim that's hers when it's been done so many times before and will be done many times after," one person commented on Instagram.

Another top comment on a Gomez post prompted a discussion about what aspects of the photos are reminiscent of Bahbah's art.

"This is a rip off of @sarahbahbah 's work. She works incredibly hard and pours all of her heart and soul into her art and it is not fair for you to just make things that are exactly like hers but with not nearly as much effort," wrote user @cherry.grrl.

In response, user @melyssarueda pointed out that the "style has been done before" and Bahbah is not the "creator" of captions.

"I am well aware that the caption style has been created before, but that is not the only aspect of her art, it's the color schemes, the poses, facial expressions, the writing itself is hers," @cherry.grrl replied.

"It's not just captions," another commenter agreed. "The entire composition, coloring, lighting, and theme is blatantly taken from a much smaller artist to make a living. Obviously, people take inspiration from one another, but sarah bahbah should receive credit for creating and refining the style that 'influenced' these photos."

Neither Bahbah nor representatives for Gomez immediately responded to INSIDER's request for comment.

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• Selena Gomez recently released a music video for her newest single, "Back To You."
• Gomez was previously accused of "ripping off" an artist's characteristic photography style when she teased the video with photos on Instagram.
• Fans are now pointing out striking similarities between the video itself and a 1965 French film, "Pierrot le Fou."
• Some think Gomez is paying homage to the film, while others think it's a shallow recreation.

Selena Gomez has had her fair share of controversies — especially when it comes to her visual works. She has been criticized for working with Woody Allen, accused of cultural appropriation, and is now being scrutinized for unoriginality. 

To promote her newest music video for the single "Back To You," Gomez posted a series of photos on Instagram that some thought were suspiciously similar to another artist's characteristic photography style. The cinematic shots, featuring the song's lyrics as subtitles, were reminiscent of a photography series by 26-year-old Palestinian artist Sarah Bahbah.

Now that the "Back To You" visual has officially been released, it appears that Gomez actually drew inspiration from another source. The music video contains multiple direct parallels to Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 French film, "Pierrot le Fou"— though some have disagreed on whether it's paying homage or creating a shallow imitation.

The theatrical, dramatic tone of Gomez's teasers on Instagram bleeds into the video itself. The plot — which follows Gomez and a boyish love interest as they ditch a boring party, steal a car, and ostensibly try to escape reality — is both bizarre and dreamlike. The dialogue is communicated through yellow captions that pop up at the bottom of the screen.

As they prance around in a sunny field, reality catches up with the couple when they discover a “WANTED” poster featuring their faces. Gomez burns the evidence of their grand theft auto, the lovers squabble, they return to the party, and they decide to repeat the shenanigans all over again. 

"Pierrot le Fou" is a romantic crime drama that belongs to the influential genre of the French New Wave. It follows an unhappily married man who decides to — you guessed it! — ditch a boring party, hop in a convertible, and run away with his ex-girlfriend.

The incompatible lovers get themselves into all kinds of shenanigans, though the film's ending is (no spoilers) a bit darker than I would've expected for Gomez's taste.

Nevertheless, Gomez's video, which was directed by Scott Cudmore, is saturated with Godard's quintessential filmmaking quirks: fragmented editing; characters breaking the fourth wall; melodramatic dialogue; a garish, primary color-focused palette; and cartoonish neorealism.

An Instagram account apparently belonging to Cudmore, though it's not verified, confirmed that the video is "Godard-inspired."

It's not difficult to pick up on the similarities. i-D magazine called Gomez's video "a Godard film for the Instagram era" and "ostensibly an homage."

Cinemaphiles will immediately notice parallels, as the music video's opening visual directly mirrors the famous party scene in "Pierrot le Fou," both doused in deep, ever-changing colors.

The inane dialogue from side characters serves to highlight the shallow, bourgeois lifestyle that Pierrot wants to escape from. Gomez may be making the same statement about her experience as a celebrity.

Indeed, the characters in both appear to have similar motivations and intentions. Gomez and her romantic interest, as with Perriot and Marrianne, want to escape — but they also try to find themselves through the eyes of the other person. They commit crimes. They burn a car. They fall in and out of love.

"They are abandoned to their own devices," Godard has said of his film's protagonists. "They are inside both their adventure and themselves."

Naturally, Gomez fans are fawning over the "lovely homage."

Others, however, are less impressed with the parallels.

"Shouldn't u credit or say something about the director that inspired you if this is supposed to be a homage?" one YouTube commenter wrote. "You can't just take artists' ideas and say u were inspired u have to acknowledge them."

"You guys are too young to get the visual/story references, the whole video is inspired by 'Pierrot le Fou,' Jean-Luc Godard's film, pioneer of the Nouvelle Vague of French Cinema. I mean, maybe lyrics are inspired by her relationship with [Justin Bieber], but c'mmon lets give credit to who deserves it," wrote another.

It's impossible to deny that Gomez pulled themes and aesthetics from New Wave cinema and Godard's artistic touch, but the fine line between inspiration and imitation will likely always be up for debate.

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