Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by historical facts and archaeology. I think humans perceive the past as a series of events; something like a movie that we can’t really feel or touch. I believe the things that bring us closer to the past are those that truly humanize us - the bodies from Pompeii, the perfectly preserved Inca mummies, the personal objects of long-gone historical figures, and more.
I’ve always thought how incredible it would be to see historical events and the famous people the way they actually happened and the way they actually looked. I started Royalty Now in February of 2019, simply as a way for me to see my favorite historical figure, Anne Boleyn, as a woman of modern times. I wanted to know if she could come to life from the few pale, flat portraits we have of her. I started the account to satisfy my own curiosity about what those interesting people of the past would look like if they were standing right in front of me. I’m incredibly thankful for the support and interest the account has received, and can’t wait to see what happens next with other historical people.
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Nefertiti
"This bust of Nefertiti (believed to have been sculpted during her lifetime) is famous for its grace and beauty. Nefertiti lived from approximately 1370 - 1330 BC. She was an Egyptian queen and the wife of Akhenaten, an Egyptian Pharaoh. Akhenaten is famous for his attempt to transition Egypt into a monotheistic society (worshipping only the sun god, Aten), instead of a polytheistic one."
Have you considered, artists tended to be flattering in the way they portray royalty? Just sayin. We need her skull.
Did not capture the essence of the bust. Look at it carefully. Nefertiti had a very different kind of demeanour and aura
That's the name I was looking for! Remember the face but her name was escaping me. Thank you!
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There is a documentary about how she might really looked like as the proportions in this statue the same as in famous Venus painting are physically not possible
Yes i read an article about how they have found a base layer under the head which has a crooked nose and wrinkles. Sounds like the Queen asked for a face lift
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An error [or deliberate misrepresentation]. Nefertiti had blue or bluish-grey eyes.
https://www.amazon.com/Hermetically-Sealed-One-Ordinary-Gal/dp/1734773200/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2BZ4P8JQ2VTT3&dchild=1&keywords=hermetically+sealed+in+one+ordinary+gal&qid=1612725402&sprefix=hermetically+sealed+in+%2Caps%2C691&sr=8-1
1370-1330? Luister, ek weet van haar, maar hierdie syfers maak nie sin in my super slegte wiskunde brein. Nie dalk andersom?
Thank you so much, I am really looking forward seeing more of your work,it is a fascinating subject!
Mummies. And some were embalmed better than others. They think they might have found part of Nefertiti recently--part of a skeleton. She and her Pharoah weren't well liked...
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Looks familiar, I'm sure there's an actress that bears a striking resemblance
Experts have also questioned if this is the actual busk of Nefertiti. If you look at the busk of Akhenaten, it looks the same as her.
You should should click through my photos and see the people facial recognition thinks I am. https://www.facebook.com/TheDOTKU/photos_all
Admiral Nelson and Emma Hamilton, Keats, all the Brontes [though I wouldn't glam up the Bronte sisters, not really their style!] Endlessly facinating!
Could you please do Shakespeare, Charles 1st, Charles ll, Samuel Pepys and Queen Victoria? Such a fascinating view of historic figures!
I think that the bust portrays an older person than the one recreated.
Though extremely beautiful, I feel it didn’t do justice to the ethereal and iconic beauty of the actual queen!
THEY ARE ALL VERY BEAUTIFUL ,,,VERY INTERESTING ,I ENJOYED LOKKING AT ALL OF THEM
Here's my favorite Nefertiti: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CJVhoqUVAAAs9pJ?format=jpg&name=small
No wonder why Nefertiti is considered the most beautiful woman of her day
Met her last night. Is a royal gal, but bit of an ice queen if you ask me.
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Ilhan Omar always makes me think of Nefertiti. My mom was obsessed with Egyptian history, art and all of it. I miss watching documentaries with her. We did go to the “King Tut” exhibit in... 1974? or thereabouts. It was breathtaking. The likeness is okay, not sure why one wouldn’t trust the sculpture’s accuracy. The art in this period was nothing if not precise. But yes, idealized too. Every line, shape, shape, design breathtaking.
NO WAY...… the woman on the right.....her cheekbones are not far enough apart and are not high enough..... and her eyeliner is way too thick.....and the eyebrows are NOT in the right position.....and her ear is way too big......and she needs more UPPER LID …..not enough...….and I don't think her face is square enough at the bottom...….
There are different spellings, in English it is usually Aten.
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When I saw the artifact found in 1995 in Ecuador, showing our Sun with a black triangle inside of it, I started putting together many pieces of this giant puzzle. All stars are portals.... They knew the "gods" come from the Sun. I have learnt so many things..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwjd69yyN-M&t=5s
Ancient Egypt was a multi-racial society. Nefertiti was a lighter-skinned Mediterranean woman according to the archaeological evidence, like it or not.
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Queen Elizabeth I
Alexander The Great
"I did some research on his looks and it is recorded that he had curly golden hair and heterochromia (one eye blue and one eye brown or a combo of both), so he was definitely a striking figure."
Agrippina The Younger
"Agrippina the Younger is someone I only recently learned more about but she had a crazy life. She was the sister of Emperor Caligula and the mother of Emperor Nero. I highly recommend giving her a search if you’re interested in that era of Roman history!"
Mary, Queen Of Scots
Love that you can see the resemblence between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth I!
Madame De Pompadour
"Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, better known as Madame de Pompadour. She first caught the eye of Louis XV at a masked ball in 1745 (it was said that she was dressed as a domino, and he was dressed as a plant) and was his chief mistress thereafter until 1751. Even after she was no longer Louis' mistress, she was a trusted friend, confidante, and advisor, essentially becoming one of the most powerful women at the French court until her death in 1764."
Empress Elisabeth Of Austria
"During her life, Elisabeth (known as Sisi), was known for being beautiful, smart, rebellious and passionate. Definitely worth some digging into if you are interested in late 1800s Europe."
Katherine Of Aragon
"This portrait of Katherine of Aragon, wife of King Henry VIII and Queen of England from 1509-1533, has always been my favorite. There are several portraits of her that all range in looks, so it’s hard to tell her true likeness. I think this one captures her piety, meekness, and obedience as documented by historians."
Louis XV
"Louis XV is lesser known than his predecessor the Sun King and his heir, Louis XVI, but he was the second-longest reigning monarch in French history. I have always known him by his famous mistresses, Madame De Pompadour and Madame du Barry."
Catherine Parr
"She was the only wife to outlive the king, who was tyrannical in his last years."
Anne of Cleves outlived him as well. She got the best deal: Henry VIII annulled the marriage within a year, gave her some nice properties, a title, and honorary membership to the family as "the King's Beloved Sister" (invitations to court without the hassle of being married to someone toxic).
The Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov
Queen Isabella Of Castile
"Queen Isabella of Castile, partner to Ferdinand II of Aragon and the queen who sent Columbus on his way to the “new world” in 1492. "
Emperor Augustus
"Emperor Augustus (born Octavius, the great-nephew of Julius Caesar) was the first emperor of Rome, ending 500 years of republic. He’s an incredibly controversial figure, especially due to the smart and ruthless way he came to power, but he ruled over a time of relative peace in the Roman empire."
Abraham Lincoln
"Abe Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the American Civil War, its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. He preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the U.S. economy."
Christina Of Denmark
"Christina of Denmark, seen here in an original Hans Holbein portrait, lived from 1521 - 1590. Christina was considered as a possible bride for King Henry VIII of England. Christina was not fond of the English King's reputation, given that he had divorced his first wife and beheaded his second wife. The originator of one of the greatest quotes about King Henry in history, Christina famously said: "If I had two heads, one should be at the King of England's disposal." What an amazing denial to a marriage proposal."
Katherine Howard
"Katherine Howard (c. 1523 – 13 February 1542) was Queen of England for only 16 months as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. Katherine was actually the cousin of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn. When they married, he was 49 and she only 16 or 17. Katherine was accused of adultery and executed by the King, ending her short reign as the Queen of England."
Eleanor Of Toledo
"Eleanor of Toledo was an astonishing woman. Originally from Toledo, Spain, she was a bride to a famous member of the Medici Family, Cosimo I de Medici. Her husband regularly consulted with her on matters of politics, and she even served as consort during his time away from Florence."
Madame Du Barry
"This is Madame du Barry - the official mistress of Louis XV after his first love, Madame de Pompadour’s death."
Caligula
"Caligula, infamous brat and Roman Emperor."
You could have just postet a picture of Jack Gleeson (Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones). They look pretty much alike.
Napoleon
"Did you know that Napoleon was most likely 5'7"? That's taller than King Louis XIV. Some say his perceived smaller stature was due to him looking small in comparison to his huge accomplishments. Others say there was an error when translating his true height from French to English. Who do you think he looks like here?"
Benjamin Franklin
King Henry VII
"Here we are with Henry VII, the first tudor monarch, a frequent request from you all. Henry was the last king of England to attain the throne in battle after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485."
Thank God for Princess Di and Kate Middleton. Inbreeding leads to so much ugliness. 😁
Mona Lisa
Close, but if I met the likeness, I'm not sure the first thing I would think of is Mona Lisa. The shape of the face is not quite right and her expression lacks the subtlety of the original.
Grace Kelly
"Grace Kelly, American film actress and Princess of Monaco."
Note: this post originally had 39 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I don't what to sound like an a*s but somebody is using this site to practice their photoshop skills and they are not doing a great job.
You don't sound like an a*s. These are simply terrible.
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It kinda looks like that face-swapping app and it's very badly executed ☹️
Unfortunately most of these would not be accurate. Most sculptures and paintings drastically altered how the individuals looked, in most cases to make them look better, because they had abnormalities due to incest, scars, etc or they weren't very attractive. Unless you took the bones of the individual and recreated their facial structure, that is the only way to really know, and even that isn't totally accurate.
Exactly. And there’s been no allowance made for the many “improvements” the artists imposed on their portraits which were simply “fashionable” at the time - like all the tiny rose-bud mouths, overly long noses and too-large eyes. Many of the facial proportions are stuffed up. Just popping a modern wig on an old portrait of dodgy veracity is plainly ridiculous. I was hoping to see some accurate forensic reconstructions based on the skulls or even death masks of the subjects.
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Overall I am not pleased with these. The artist took liberties that she shouldn't have done. Giving them a slimmer face, slimmer neckline and elongating their faces makes them look cartoonish in quite a few of the recreations. To bring them more "up-to-date", changing their clothing and hairstyles should have been the only changes made to each of them.
I didn't want to be negative which is why my original comment was "..." but most people have said what I was going to say anyway.
These looked like real people in the paintings, but the edited versions are seriously uncanny valley.
I agree. The angle of the painting/sculpture faces don't always match the photo they're put into, either.
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A lot of the face shapes changed a lot, and there was too much straightening of the hair, a lot of which would have still been pretty tight after even modern straightening.
Although tight ringlets was the fashion of the time. Many had straight hair naturally.
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I'm getting that women should not have curly hair vibe from this collection...
Pretty neat! Hope to see what Jesus, Emperor Qin or Genghis Khan might look like today.
I was crestfallen when I dropped my toothpaste.
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Don’t take this offensive but these don’t look very realistic, photoshop skills need to be a little more practiced. Pretty much what Giovanni said.
Am I the only one who tried to figure out who the faces were photoshopped on to? 😂😂😂
It would have been better not to use live body shots with drawn faces. It just looks so weird and artificial. I stopped looking after the first dozen.
I believe this was a great job, regardless of the images being accurate or not, photoshop practice or not... It was just simply interesting to see how these characters from history would look like if they had been our contemporaries, I would actually love to see more like this...
Most of these all just look like you slapped the painting/sculpture's face onto a random person. I don't want to be rude but I think this could've been done way better. I would've liked to look at one of these and think: 'Hey, that looks real, like I could actually see them looking like that.' sadly that's not the case.
Nice, too bad they're all European or European origin. Why not some reconstructions of Buddha, Shah Jehan (contemporary of queeen Elizabeth, built the Taj Mahal) or Omar Khayyam?
Do we have verified portraits of them? I think that was the deciding factor...
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It's fun. Who cares if it's accurate? I would think that today, many men would be sporting mustaches, stubble, goatees, or beards, though.
That portrait is no more Katherine Parr than I am. The portrait is another of Elizabeth 1st.
Alright, yes, the photoshopping isin't "on point" and everything. But this person still tried, please try and cool this hate. I would like to see all of us do better. 😭
Jeesh it's annoying reading comment sections any more. Everyone acts like they have every answer to every question NEVER asked. Guess what? NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU THINK . Not to mention the majority of comments in most comment sections are usually negative in regards to perceived errors and what "should have" been done. If people would just pull their heads out of their own a$$e$ and actually learn something or count to 10 and try to understand what you're reading before making assumptions in the form of directive opinions passed of as psuedo factual. YES YOU!
Look why don't all of you who don't like these try to do them yourself and publish them here. I would love to see the results!!
I think it’s clever. I didn’t expect historical accuracy; you’d need a skull for that and an expensive scientific process. But as the author wrote of Catherine of Aragon, there are many depictions of these historical figures. It’s clever and interesting to take a portrait and put it in a modern context. It really changes the appearance, even though you can match up the face to the old portrait, feature to feature.
nice to see that someone´s interested in history and archaeology, but let me tell you, that history is definitely not perceived as a series of events by historians, neither as a character´s story arcs.. Well done though
I love these and this overall concept. My only real gripe is that all of the women have long, flowing hair, whereas many if not most modern women in our culturehave short hair of some kind. (As some-one who personally has long flowing hair, it gets commented on a lot be-cause many people just don't see that so often these days ) I'd love to see more modern haircuts on some of these historical women.
So.. Putting painted faces on real peoples bodies using photoshop, counts as headline news these days? Well, do I have some news for you then! I got loads of news!
So putting a drawings face on a real persons body, using photoshop, is frontpage news these days? Well, do I have some news for you then!
I actually enjoyed flicking through them. Sometimes I thought they could have got it better, but mostly it is a fascinating insight. Thank you.
im sorry but my weeb a*s gotta do this. CAESAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!
Nefertiti could not have been Black sub-Sahara African. There was not a Black African population in Egypt. She might have come from the areas known today as Iran, Turkey, etc., but not sub-Sahara Africa. https://www.yahoo.com/news/whos-mummy-genetic-secrets-ancient-egypt-unwrapped-192854972.html
Unless there was Kush in the gene pool. There were black Pharoahs...
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Fine arts, that's something good to spend time with historical facts. Thankyou for the read.
I mean would have been nice to see some people of color.... 😩 diversity made up our past and all we get is whitewashed garbage?
There was no diversity in Medieval Europe. This batch is all from then (except for Grace Kelly.)
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Brilliant -but mostly the faces have been narrowed and elongated, loved them though.
These can't be taken at face value - in Greek & Roman days, sculptures were all very similar, later on, the same happened with painting, there was a style for each era, especially in the 1400's & 1500's. Only much later a more naturalistic style developed. Most of Holbein's models looked similar, also Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc.
Incorrect. Both Julius Caesar and Caligula were well known for their blond hair. Dark hair was extremely rare in the Italian Pennisula before the Moorish occupation.
These pics are either of people that few of us have heard of, or just shoved today's clothes on an old painting. Pointless
If you didn't know at least 70% of them, you've got some serious catching up to do
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Lighten up, geez! It was fun. Photoshop is here to stay, hate it or not. 🙄
We like photoshop but they don't know how to use it.
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Paintings NEVER truly looked like the actual individual...so unfortunately... someone's time was greatly wasted on Photoshop
Most of the royals pictured all looked a little downsy on the eyes. I guess that can be expected when ya have uncle/brothers and such. Spent to much time in the shallow end of the gene pool. If it werent for the occasional butler or servant knocking up one of them the gene pool would have dried up into some real hills have eyes kind of sh@t.
Nefertiti and Caesar were great.. and then it kind of went downhill from there.
Some of these are very poor...while most are passable. Nothing exceptional to view.
Nearly all the men (and some of the women) have got large noses. Maybe we'd have more too if it weren't for plastic surgery?
I don't what to sound like an a*s but somebody is using this site to practice their photoshop skills and they are not doing a great job.
You don't sound like an a*s. These are simply terrible.
Load More Replies... It kinda looks like that face-swapping app and it's very badly executed ☹️
Unfortunately most of these would not be accurate. Most sculptures and paintings drastically altered how the individuals looked, in most cases to make them look better, because they had abnormalities due to incest, scars, etc or they weren't very attractive. Unless you took the bones of the individual and recreated their facial structure, that is the only way to really know, and even that isn't totally accurate.
Exactly. And there’s been no allowance made for the many “improvements” the artists imposed on their portraits which were simply “fashionable” at the time - like all the tiny rose-bud mouths, overly long noses and too-large eyes. Many of the facial proportions are stuffed up. Just popping a modern wig on an old portrait of dodgy veracity is plainly ridiculous. I was hoping to see some accurate forensic reconstructions based on the skulls or even death masks of the subjects.
Load More Replies... Overall I am not pleased with these. The artist took liberties that she shouldn't have done. Giving them a slimmer face, slimmer neckline and elongating their faces makes them look cartoonish in quite a few of the recreations. To bring them more "up-to-date", changing their clothing and hairstyles should have been the only changes made to each of them.
I didn't want to be negative which is why my original comment was "..." but most people have said what I was going to say anyway.
These looked like real people in the paintings, but the edited versions are seriously uncanny valley.
I agree. The angle of the painting/sculpture faces don't always match the photo they're put into, either.
Load More Replies... A lot of the face shapes changed a lot, and there was too much straightening of the hair, a lot of which would have still been pretty tight after even modern straightening.
Although tight ringlets was the fashion of the time. Many had straight hair naturally.
Load More Replies... I'm getting that women should not have curly hair vibe from this collection...
Pretty neat! Hope to see what Jesus, Emperor Qin or Genghis Khan might look like today.
I was crestfallen when I dropped my toothpaste.
Load More Replies... Don’t take this offensive but these don’t look very realistic, photoshop skills need to be a little more practiced. Pretty much what Giovanni said.
Am I the only one who tried to figure out who the faces were photoshopped on to? 😂😂😂
It would have been better not to use live body shots with drawn faces. It just looks so weird and artificial. I stopped looking after the first dozen.
I believe this was a great job, regardless of the images being accurate or not, photoshop practice or not... It was just simply interesting to see how these characters from history would look like if they had been our contemporaries, I would actually love to see more like this...
Most of these all just look like you slapped the painting/sculpture's face onto a random person. I don't want to be rude but I think this could've been done way better. I would've liked to look at one of these and think: 'Hey, that looks real, like I could actually see them looking like that.' sadly that's not the case.
Nice, too bad they're all European or European origin. Why not some reconstructions of Buddha, Shah Jehan (contemporary of queeen Elizabeth, built the Taj Mahal) or Omar Khayyam?
Do we have verified portraits of them? I think that was the deciding factor...
Load More Replies... It's fun. Who cares if it's accurate? I would think that today, many men would be sporting mustaches, stubble, goatees, or beards, though.
That portrait is no more Katherine Parr than I am. The portrait is another of Elizabeth 1st.
Alright, yes, the photoshopping isin't "on point" and everything. But this person still tried, please try and cool this hate. I would like to see all of us do better. 😭
Jeesh it's annoying reading comment sections any more. Everyone acts like they have every answer to every question NEVER asked. Guess what? NO ONE CARES WHAT YOU THINK . Not to mention the majority of comments in most comment sections are usually negative in regards to perceived errors and what "should have" been done. If people would just pull their heads out of their own a$$e$ and actually learn something or count to 10 and try to understand what you're reading before making assumptions in the form of directive opinions passed of as psuedo factual. YES YOU!
Look why don't all of you who don't like these try to do them yourself and publish them here. I would love to see the results!!
I think it’s clever. I didn’t expect historical accuracy; you’d need a skull for that and an expensive scientific process. But as the author wrote of Catherine of Aragon, there are many depictions of these historical figures. It’s clever and interesting to take a portrait and put it in a modern context. It really changes the appearance, even though you can match up the face to the old portrait, feature to feature.
nice to see that someone´s interested in history and archaeology, but let me tell you, that history is definitely not perceived as a series of events by historians, neither as a character´s story arcs.. Well done though
I love these and this overall concept. My only real gripe is that all of the women have long, flowing hair, whereas many if not most modern women in our culturehave short hair of some kind. (As some-one who personally has long flowing hair, it gets commented on a lot be-cause many people just don't see that so often these days ) I'd love to see more modern haircuts on some of these historical women.
So.. Putting painted faces on real peoples bodies using photoshop, counts as headline news these days? Well, do I have some news for you then! I got loads of news!
So putting a drawings face on a real persons body, using photoshop, is frontpage news these days? Well, do I have some news for you then!
I actually enjoyed flicking through them. Sometimes I thought they could have got it better, but mostly it is a fascinating insight. Thank you.
im sorry but my weeb a*s gotta do this. CAESAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!
Nefertiti could not have been Black sub-Sahara African. There was not a Black African population in Egypt. She might have come from the areas known today as Iran, Turkey, etc., but not sub-Sahara Africa. https://www.yahoo.com/news/whos-mummy-genetic-secrets-ancient-egypt-unwrapped-192854972.html
Unless there was Kush in the gene pool. There were black Pharoahs...
Load More Replies... Fine arts, that's something good to spend time with historical facts. Thankyou for the read.
I mean would have been nice to see some people of color.... 😩 diversity made up our past and all we get is whitewashed garbage?
There was no diversity in Medieval Europe. This batch is all from then (except for Grace Kelly.)
Load More Replies... Brilliant -but mostly the faces have been narrowed and elongated, loved them though.
These can't be taken at face value - in Greek & Roman days, sculptures were all very similar, later on, the same happened with painting, there was a style for each era, especially in the 1400's & 1500's. Only much later a more naturalistic style developed. Most of Holbein's models looked similar, also Rembrandt, Vermeer, etc.
Incorrect. Both Julius Caesar and Caligula were well known for their blond hair. Dark hair was extremely rare in the Italian Pennisula before the Moorish occupation.
These pics are either of people that few of us have heard of, or just shoved today's clothes on an old painting. Pointless
If you didn't know at least 70% of them, you've got some serious catching up to do
Load More Replies... Lighten up, geez! It was fun. Photoshop is here to stay, hate it or not. 🙄
We like photoshop but they don't know how to use it.
Load More Replies... Paintings NEVER truly looked like the actual individual...so unfortunately... someone's time was greatly wasted on Photoshop
Most of the royals pictured all looked a little downsy on the eyes. I guess that can be expected when ya have uncle/brothers and such. Spent to much time in the shallow end of the gene pool. If it werent for the occasional butler or servant knocking up one of them the gene pool would have dried up into some real hills have eyes kind of sh@t.
Nefertiti and Caesar were great.. and then it kind of went downhill from there.
Some of these are very poor...while most are passable. Nothing exceptional to view.
Nearly all the men (and some of the women) have got large noses. Maybe we'd have more too if it weren't for plastic surgery?
