[imagesource: Shutterstock]

When a mural appeared of a prisoner escaping from Reading Prison in southern England earlier this week, everyone reckoned that Banksy was behind it.

He went cerebral with this one, depicting Oscar Wilde, who was held at the institution on charges of “gross indecency” (or rather, being gay), climbing down the wall using bedsheets, with his typewriter dangling below him.

And, yes, it has now been confirmed as an original Banksy.

A few days after he paints, he almost always posts his work on Instagram. It’s usually a picture, but occasionally he uploads a video.

The last one was of him leaving his mark on the London Underground, and the latest features another famous artist.

As Open Culture points out, it would be difficult to find two artists with less in common than Banksy and Bob Ross, who hosted 32 seasons of The Joy of Painting over the course of a decade.

Bob Ross, in case you don’t know, painted innocuous landscapes on public television. His show is simultaneously boring and gripping.

But, game recognises game, and Banksy decided to pay tribute to Ross in The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross and Banksy:

Perfection.

[source:openculture]