What did Joan of Arc look like?
What did Joan of Arc really look like? The French heroine’s appearance is almost entirely a mystery. In fact, a doodle in the margins of French parliamentary notes is the only image that exists from her lifetime, and was sketched by someone who had not even seen her in person.
What did Jane Austen really look like?
Jane Austen’s real appearance is more mysterious than you might think. With only one authenticated sketch from her lifetime, the English novelist remains enigmatic, but I’ve done my best to re-create her true likeness.
What did Mary, Queen of Scots really look like?
Have you ever looked at portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots and felt they fall a little flat? I’ve reconstructed Mary from her gorgeous death mask, said to be taken from Mary directly after her execution in 1587.
Harriet Tubman Brought to Life
Known as “The Moses of her People,” Harriet Tubman escaped slavery and made it her life’s mission to help rescue others from the same fate. After her own successful escape in 1849 from Maryland to the free state of Pennsylvania, she would return at least 13 times to rescue other enslaved people, including her siblings and parents. She became one of the most famous conductors of the Underground Railroad, the network of free people, both black and white, who were working in secret to guide enslaved black Americans to freedom. Harriet rescued between 70 and 300 people during her life. Later, she would go on to aid the Union in the Civil War, providing intelligence and even leading a successful armed mission. She was also an outspoken advocate for women’s rights and other causes.
What did George Washington look like?
So what did America’s first President really look like? While we have many portraits of Washington, surprisingly, very few were created from life. Washington apparently hated sitting for portraits, thinking they were a waste of his time. For this reason, many images we see of him today are copies.
Luckily, in 1785,when Washington was 53, French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon visited him at his Mount Vernon residence. His mission was to take a life mask - a plaster cast of Washington’s face - which he would then use to create sculpture copies.
What did King Tut look like?
Almost exactly 100 years ago, British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered a stairwell in the Valley of the Kings. The very next day, he followed the stairs, and was thrilled to find an undiscovered tomb, with its inner door still sealed - an extremely rare treasure.
In it was the Boy King Tutankhamun. A pharaoh who had reigned for only 10 years - the blink of an eye in historical context. It was a discovery for the ages, one that revealed thousands of perfectly preserved Egyptian antiquities and captured the public imagination.
The “Real” William Wallace - What did he look like?
The reputation of Sir William Wallace looms large in Scotland, and after the 1995 film “Braveheart” his legacy became known around the globe. But, there is a lot to separate in terms of fact from fiction.
But what we really know about William Wallace comes from only a few sources, most notably the 15th century writings of a poet called Blind Harry, titled The Wallace. Unfortunately, there are many periods of Wallace’s life for which no information exists.
The “Real” face of Van Gogh?
What did Vincent van Gogh really look like? It’s harder to pin down than you might think.
35 self-portraits of Van Gogh exist - with just one photograph of him at age 19. Each self-portrait is an interesting window into his mental condition. We see many versions of Vincent, each looking quite different. In some, his facial angles are extremely exaggerated and shadowed in dark colors - possible insight into his distressed mental state. However, his general facial features are there each time - red hair, defined cheekbones, a slightly hooked nose - the details change with each version.
I used his self portrait from 1887 for my re-creation. After looking through them all, this one somehow seems to fall perfectly in the middle. It’s also comparable to his photo portrait as a young man, looking like a thin, aged up version of it.
Queen Victoria & Prince Albert Brought to life from their portraits (with realism edits!)
Studying the appearance of Victoria and Albert is fascinating, because their lives straddled the time between portrait painting and photography as the method for documenting what a monarch looks like.
Since we know what Victoria and Albert look like in their later years, I’ve re-creating portraits of them young, what they looked like soon after becoming Queen and Consort. I also created them with “realism” edits, using some early photographs from around the same time to create versions of them without the portrait beautifications.