Ever wished a painting could come to life? This 3D version of a Vincent Willem van Gogh masterpiece comes close, especially if viewed with a virtual reality headset, reports New Scientist.

Animator Mackenzie Cauley of Brooklyn, New York, has transformed The Night Café by van Gogh into a 3D environment and animated certain features in the artwork – for example, there is a hazy, hypnotic effect encircling the lights, while a man resembling van Gogh himself casually smokes a pipe.

The virtual diorama was made by painstakingly picking apart the elements of the original painting then digitising them with the help of 3D software. To fill the parts of the room that weren't visible in the original 2D, few extras were then added, such as a piano player performing near the bar. Cauley also softened the distorted perspective so that people wouldn't feel seasick while wandering through the scene.

Video: Van Gogh painting comes to life in 3D

The Dutch impressionist's work was ideal for 3D remodelling, he claims. "Even though a van Gogh painting is on a 2D canvas, you can almost imagine yourself in those places".

The revamped painting was recently submitted to a competition challenging creators to come up with innovative uses of virtual reality.