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I Used AI To Find Out What These 21 Historical Figures Would Look Like In Modern Times
Due to the elevated status of celebrities, we often forget that they are normal people, just like anyone else. But the glitz and glamour dazes us, and we forget that, if only for a moment. Same applies to famous historical personalities, and even to a greater extent: we can only see them through the works of (usually) great artists, and this dash of artistic genius always make these personalities look like demigods from a long-gone era of heroic men and women. But just like with celebrities, there's a reason to believe that they were normal regular people, despite their great achievements and stories about them.
This is why I wanted to take another look at these historical personalities and try to imagine them as if they lived in modern times. One of the perks of modern times is that everybody's fashion doesn't tell as much about their social status as it once did, and it makes them look equal, like you and me.
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Vincent Van Gogh
Seeing the works of photographer and digital artist Bas Uterwijk (I, II, III) made me create this series. Obviously he's a master at what he does and I tried to learn more from him, so I was very glad to receive some positive feedback from him! Nathan Shipley's works (I, II) also influenced me greatly.
Alexander The Great
When choosing the character, the most time-consuming thing is to find an image that resembles the historical figure. I spend hours in image databases until I get the right picture. Each individual piece takes up to 2 hours, which is nothing compared to AI-unassisted methods.
Anne Of Cleves
I believe they are people who were born to shine. No matter how digitally "regular" AI makes them look, we will always have in mind that the subject of the image made a name for themselves in history. I really liked how George Washington, Vincent Van Gogh and Napoleon Bonaparte turned out because they perfectly capture their soul, in my opinion. My Instagram followers gave a lot of positive votes for these images too, so I was very happy that my hunch was correct.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
I have to admit, I find some of these--like this one--confusing. The recreation looks a lot like Mozart, but more like someone RELATED to Mozart, like a relative. Like, the nose and eyes are similar, but not the same. But shouldn't the recreation look EXACTLY like him? In other words, if you actually lived back then, this is what he would look like (but in modern clothes, apparently). I just don't understand the point of all this if it doesn't actually look exactly like the person.
Excellent! You can almost see him teasing his sister and cracking dirty jokes with his beloved Constanza. Love the way the reconstructionist caught the goofy light in his eyes.
If Mozart were around today, he'd probably be composing music for movies. And bringing home Oscar after Oscar after Oscar.
I am just going to stop commenting. The constsnt issue is that defining features are minimalized in the AI renderings. While the portraits might look a little cartoonish, many of these people had some strange proportions and features due to illnesses and inbreeding. Not Mozart, but his nose and lips have a very unique shaped and that individualism is glossed over for a more "pretty" rendering. However, who knows, these people were largely wealthy so many might say yes so a little nip tuck here and lipo there. I would rather see a truer depiction than an idealized one personally. Yes instagram I mean you too.
Doing costume research in the 18th century, I noticed that many subjects in portraits were wearing very similar clothes (that same blue dress!) and looked awfully alike. It dawned on me that I might be looking at what I call the Olan Mills Effect. Portrait artists travelled from town to town, often bringing props, like their pet lap dog, painting virtually the same picture but with a different face. But not that different. I imagine that the notion of attractiveness, like today, was shared by the artist and the subject, who either wouldn't notice or were flattered by little "improvements" in the likeness. Leopold Mozart would have hit the ceiling if an expensive portrait of his son were a bad likeness. But both of them wouldn't have minded a bit of prettying up. ;)
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Good except for angle of mouth. AI guy's mouth tilts a bit down at the edges, Wolfie's mouth def tilts upward at the edges.
Suggestion: I'd like to see an AI picture of George Frideric Handel, please.
Lips are a bit thin; Beethoven appears to have wider, very sensual lips.
Currently, I'm preparing the third part of the series that I showed here at Bored Panda, where I use Artificial Intelligence to imagine what celebrities who died too soon would be like today (I, II). Of course, who knows what I'm going to do after that, but I'm definitely going to keep experimenting with AI art, so follow my Instagram to keep yourself updated!
Julius Caesar
The one on the left takes over countries while the one on the right raids corporations. Is it progress that we now use cell phones?
Marcus Aurelius
Of course, none of this would've been possible without AI intelligence, or at least it would've taken a very, very long time. I used software called Artbreeder, a platform that is widely used for generative AI art, and the FaceApp application to finish them up. I hope it turned out great. Enjoy!
Henry VIII
Sandro Botticelli
George Washington
Also, if he lived in this day and age, he'd have much better teeth!
William Shakespeare
Rembrandt
Caesar Augustus
Marie Antoinette
It's like the AI gave up after the nose. Face isn't round enough...should be oval not triangle. Mouth too wide, too.
Queen Nefertiti
I think if the face was at the same angle in both shots it would be better. Though she does have the wrong nose.
Mona Lisa
Caligula
Catherine The Great
Queen Elizabeth I
Mary Tudor
Da Vinci's "Salvador Mundi"
Don't mind all my picky critiques. This was interesting to look at and you did a nice job! Well done.
I've seen lots of AI interpretations, but they all still seem a bit out of reach. If you had told me that these are real people,I would have believed you. It's really impressive.
From what I understand, they are real people. The artist/author worked with an image database, the AI helped to identify approximate matches for faces in the database ,then the human spent some hours sifting through this AI selected subset to find the best match to the art work.
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It's in the article, Artbreeder followed by Faceapp to finish
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I like how they all have clear skin and no blemishes - and are much sexier than the images/statues. VERY realistic...
I loved every AI you've created. It was like looking into a living human being. There are limited historical reflections of African descent but if you happen by one, I'd love to see the outcome. Your work is amazing. You have to keep going.
I love this! What a perfect way to time travel😀 Thanks for all your work!!
Fascinating. If I were still teaching history, I would absolutely share this with my students. I think they'd enjoy being able to see these historical figures as real people, and it might help young learners connect with the course material in ways that standard textbook pictures never could.
All the revision comments on these crack me up, it’s like a graphic designer client feedback meme account. Anyhow, I think this is such a fun series and I really enjoyed it! Great job creating these.
Notably, they all have beautiful eyes, which nobody has any idea about.
Missed racial/ethnic elements. And why are all your characters white?
This was really interesting. I love the way tech can bring the past to life now. I watched the show where they brought Lincoln to life... it was riveting. The first time the eyes blinked, I gasped. These photos help me imagine what these people would be like if they lived today. Good job.
So, none of the ‘people-people’ in the pictures actually exist? They are computer generated?
I think people are losing sight of the main fact here ... MODERN times. People change over time, over centuries. This is because environments change, food types change, and hello... TECHNOLOGY. People live longer, work harder, have different health habits. All of this can genuinely alter ones appearance. It's science, not opinion. Overall, I think the writer did a phenomenal job; especially since they added a disclaimer that this was their first time doing anything related to Artificial Intelligence. The amount of time this writer took to get the right photo (or sculpture) reference, and even more time trying to get it right...JOB WELL DONE.
Don't mind all my picky critiques. This was interesting to look at and you did a nice job! Well done.
I've seen lots of AI interpretations, but they all still seem a bit out of reach. If you had told me that these are real people,I would have believed you. It's really impressive.
From what I understand, they are real people. The artist/author worked with an image database, the AI helped to identify approximate matches for faces in the database ,then the human spent some hours sifting through this AI selected subset to find the best match to the art work.
Load More Replies... It's in the article, Artbreeder followed by Faceapp to finish
Load More Replies... I like how they all have clear skin and no blemishes - and are much sexier than the images/statues. VERY realistic...
I loved every AI you've created. It was like looking into a living human being. There are limited historical reflections of African descent but if you happen by one, I'd love to see the outcome. Your work is amazing. You have to keep going.
I love this! What a perfect way to time travel😀 Thanks for all your work!!
Fascinating. If I were still teaching history, I would absolutely share this with my students. I think they'd enjoy being able to see these historical figures as real people, and it might help young learners connect with the course material in ways that standard textbook pictures never could.
All the revision comments on these crack me up, it’s like a graphic designer client feedback meme account. Anyhow, I think this is such a fun series and I really enjoyed it! Great job creating these.
Notably, they all have beautiful eyes, which nobody has any idea about.
Missed racial/ethnic elements. And why are all your characters white?
This was really interesting. I love the way tech can bring the past to life now. I watched the show where they brought Lincoln to life... it was riveting. The first time the eyes blinked, I gasped. These photos help me imagine what these people would be like if they lived today. Good job.
So, none of the ‘people-people’ in the pictures actually exist? They are computer generated?
I think people are losing sight of the main fact here ... MODERN times. People change over time, over centuries. This is because environments change, food types change, and hello... TECHNOLOGY. People live longer, work harder, have different health habits. All of this can genuinely alter ones appearance. It's science, not opinion. Overall, I think the writer did a phenomenal job; especially since they added a disclaimer that this was their first time doing anything related to Artificial Intelligence. The amount of time this writer took to get the right photo (or sculpture) reference, and even more time trying to get it right...JOB WELL DONE.
