( CNN ) Javier Hirschfeld has a thing for eyes . He is gripped by unflinching stares , by looks that belie dignity and poise . `` Even in street landscapes , I like pictures where the building is looking back at you , '' admits the Spanish photographer . It was this fascination that inspired him to photograph the women of Goree Island , off the coast of Senegal . `` The powerful eyes of those girls ; they are very dark and very deep . That 's what attracted me to them , '' he recalls . The women and the landscape reminded him of a powerful portraitist who defined much of his childhood : Spanish painter Julio Romero de Torres . `` La Chiquita Piconera is ( de Torres ' ) most famous painting , and one of the most famous paintings in the Spanish tradition , '' he says . `` In the history of art , when women are portrayed , most of the time they 're being looked at . I like portraits of women that look back at you , and the woman in La Chiquita Piconera is looking back with a lot of dignity and a lot of strength . '' Another defining feature of de Torre 's paintings , says Hirschfeld , is the melancholy housed in their expressions . He found a similar sentiment in the Goree 's architecture . `` You can see that same melancholy in the crumbling buildings on the island , '' he says . The 'universal portrait ' Though the influence is Spanish , the props , the fabrics , the models and the setting are all local to Senegal . Rather than recreate the Andalusian fashions donned by the women in de Torres ' portraits , Hirschfeld picked fabrics from the Senegalese markets , and had dresses made by tailors on the island . `` In Senegal , they have an amazing tradition of tailors , and they work really fast . In one day , they can create these beautiful dresses , which you can see in the pictures , '' he says . Hirschfeld 's subjects also hold objects that reflect their culture . In de Torres ' painting , `` The Fortune-telling , '' for instance , one woman uses playing cards to give a psychic reading to her friend . In Hirschfeld 's version , his models use cowrie shells , a traditional Senegalese fortune-telling tool . `` I wanted to show that some emotions are universal , and create a more universal portrait , but I also wanted to create a more Senegalese scene , '' he says .
Photographer Javier Hirschfeld recreates portraits by modern Spanish painter Julio Romero de Torres using Senegalese locals . The artist has been documenting the lives of Senegalese-born artists in Senegal for more than a decade.