Posted on by Matt Gilligan

An Artist Shows What Historical Figures Would Look Like If They Were Alive Today

I have a feeling that once you start looking at this Instagram account, you’re gonna want more.

It’s called Royalty Now, and it’s run by a graphic designer named Becca Saladin. She imagines what historical figures would look like today and her work is really incredible!

Here are some great examples of her work.

1. The infamous Mona Lisa.

2. Queen Nefertiti.

3. Anne Boleyn.

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I hope nobody here will get tired of my Anne Boleyn posts…she is my favorite historical figure so you may get quite a few ? Many people asked me last time I posted Anne if I really thought her features (specifically her lips) were really that delicate – and I don’t think they were. Tudor portraiture often de-emphasized these features, so I modified my finished version to reflect what I think is probably her more likely appearance. Since it’s the holiday season, one of my favorite ghost stories is the story of Anne appearing underneath the great oak tree at Hever Castle, her childhood home, every Christmas day. Do you all have a favorite historic ghost story? Hope you all have a great holiday season! ?? . Credit for left image: Wikimedia Commons, United States Public Domain, right image base: © Glenn Francis, www.pacificprodigital.com

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4. Henry VIII.

5. Marie Antionette.

6. Benjamin Franklin.

7. Genghis Khan.

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Here we are with Genghis Khan, one of the most fascinating rulers in history and the founder of the Mongol Empire. Genghis was also responsible for millions of deaths. This was one that was requested many times over the past week. This is the only portrait of Genghis Khan that was supervised by someone who knew what he looked like – his grandson Khubilai Khan. There are no contemporary portraits of him. Similar to the depiction of Cleopatra, there are differing descriptions on what his coloring was. Some claimed he had red hair and green eyes, others claimed he had features very similar to East Asian populations today. I have to admit – this one challenged me and stretched my skills. This was the oldest and most stylized portrait I’ve ever worked from. Let me know what you think in the comments below! . If you’re interested in a time lapse video of how I created this piece, keep an eye out for my Patreon launch announcement coming this week! ? . Left Portrait: Public Domain, Right Portrait base: Pexels.com . #GenghisKhan #MongolEmperor #MongolEmpire #Mongols #Photoshop #RoyalFamily #History #Khubilai Khan#Royalty #EuropeanArt #EuropeanHistory #AsianArt #AsianArtHistory #Drawing #GraphicDesign #HistoryMemes #Portrait #ArtRestoration #DigitalArt #ArtOnInstagram #HistoryNerd

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8. Honest Abe.

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A lot of you requested Abraham Lincoln when I asked last week – this one came together so nicely. As most of you know, 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. . I personally don’t see any modern doppelganger – I think he was a really unique looking person. Who do you all think he looks like? . Colorization for left image goes to Marina Amaral (@marinaarts), and Universal History Archive.

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9. Alexander the Great.

10. King Tut.

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The Patreon pollsters have selected King Tut as the next subject! I know this is a little different than my usual post. This time, I’ve been given permission to use this recreation by the forensic artist (& my idol) Elisabeth Daynes (@atelier_daynes). This recreation of King Tut has long been my favorite, and was created in 2005 when 2 teams were tasked with recreating what King Tut may have looked like. It shows some of the features that may have been the result of inbreeding, such as the overbite and weak chin. I realize that the hard work here has been done for me by Daynes, but I wanted to bring him into the modern day. Hope you enjoy. . . If you would like to support my work you can do so by joining the Patreon and gaining exclusive perks like seeing posts a week before they are posted here, seeing some of my greatest failures, and watching creation videos. (www.patreon.com/royaltynow) or I have a “Tip Jar” here at www.paypalme/royaltynow. This work costs money to create, so any help is much appreciated ❤ . Left Image: © reconstruction Elisabeth Daynes, Right Image pieces: iStock Photo & Pixabay.com

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11. Napoleon Bonaparte.

12. Cleopatra.

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I’ve been resisting doing Cleopatra for some time, simply because there aren’t many reliable depictions of her, and most descriptions of her by historians were made after her death. However, I’ve gotten so many requests for her, I wanted to give you all what you’ve been asking for ? . . The closest thing we have are Roman busts from the first century BCE, around the time that Cleopatra would have been visiting Rome. I chose to base my recreation off of the Berlin Bust of Cleopatra, which was thought to have been created around 46-44 BCE. I chose this bust because most of the depictions of her include common features – a strong nose, full lips, and small chin. It’s also hard to tell what her skin & hair colors were – most descriptions describe her as dark haired and “honey-skinned”, but some even say she was a redhead. Consider this my “Artist’s Rendition” of a way that she could have possibly looked. Bottom line, Cleopatra was an amazing woman. She was intelligent, witty, spoke several languages, and was incredibly skilled in diplomacy. I really enjoyed learning more about her during research for this recreation! . . Further Research & Reading about her looks: . Encyclopedia Britannica article on what Cleopatra looked like: https://www.britannica.com/story/what-did-cleopatra-look-like . Some other reconstructions of Cleopatra: https://mysticalraven.com/art/11764/scientists-reveal-what-cleopatra-really-looked-like . Ancient Egyptian Mummy Genome article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5459999/ . Wikipedia entry on the Egyptian Race Controversy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_race_controversy . . . #Cleopatra #AncientEgypt #Sculpture #MarkAntony #JuliusCaesar #Photoshop #RoyalFamily #History #Royalty #EuropeanArt #EuropeanHistory #Drawing #GraphicDesign #HistoryMemes #Portrait #ArtRestoration #DigitalArt #ArtOnInstagram #HistoryNerd

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13. Caligula, The Emperor.

14. Jane Austen.

15. Julius Caesar.

16. Queen Elizabeth II.

Those are really wonderful, aren’t they? Anybody think that Napoleon looks like David Tennant and Henry the VIII looks like Javier Bardem?

No? Just me?

Well… which ones are your favorites?

Share your thoughts with us in the comments, please!

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