To A-Listers, Private Museum Photoshoots Are Priceless Works of Art

On average, roughly 11,500 people visit Madrid's Prado Museum each day. Yet "Houdini" singer Dua Lipa cast a spell to clear the entire gallery holding Hieronymus Bosch's late-fourteenth century triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights in mid-May, all in service of an Instagram dump.

In one shot, she pensively stares at the painting with her back to the camera, flaunting Dilara Findikoglu's "Napoleon" capri pants and matching lace-up top. In another video, she walks in front of the camera recording the Dutch painter's arguably most famous masterpiece to stick out her tongue (and flash a studded Bottega Veneta bag).

Dua's trip to the Prado is the latest in a list of gallery visits by celebs for whom Met Gala bathroom selfies feel been there, done that. With the frontiers of private islands and Monaco superyachts all over-photographed, A-listers from Kendall Jenner to Katy Perry seem to have had no choice but to shell out for private tours of the world's most revered art collections in service of vacation 'fit pics.

They're presumably taking in the art, too, but we followers see only what celebrities want us to see: a famous painting free of shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and cellphones held high. It's the pseudo-intellectual cousin of the celebrity Halloween costume photoshoots that roll around every October. Only instead of orchestrating makeup, backdrops, and props from an LA studio, they're reserving dedicated face time with the Mona Lisa. (She usually accepts up to 25,000 visitors a day, but Jenner and Bad Bunny got her all to themselves on one of their Paris date nights.)

In Kendall Jenner's version of the Night at the Museum photoshoot, Da Vinci's iconic work and The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese were cast as backdrops to her custom matching set and The Row clutch. With the outfits in the foreground, followers can instantly look up what their favorite stars wore (oftentimes, rare vintage or off-the-runway designer items). But if they want more info on the priceless works in the background, they're out of luck. Celebs will show you where they went, but they won't say what they learned with their private guide.

The pieces they're choosing for a lap through the galleries hardly resemble typical Euro summer vacation gear, either. For everyday travelers, art museums are an all-day itinerary item requiring 10,000 step-proof sneakers and comfy pants. Celebrities are most likely beelining to the biggest works for their photos and heading to an exclusive dinner; pointed-toe pumps by The Attico or strappy The Row heels meet their personal dress codes. Once again, they're one percent masters at work.

The celebrity art museum photoshoot is maybe just the A-list's form of a souvenir we all recognize. Who isn't guilty of turning around in front of a timeless artifact, monument, or Michelangelo statue and asking for an "I was here" photo? Then again, celebrities have never been typical tourists. And if we want the same shot, we'll have a lot of other travelers to photoshop out of the frame.