How Historical Figures Would Look Like Today

By
Jas Cilas
-

Texas-based graphic designer Becca Saladin was always fascinated by history and historical figures like kings, queens, and politicians. This was mostly thanks to her parents, who were both teachers and inspired her to explore major events and people who influenced the development of human civilization.

Now, Saladin decided to use her skills as a graphic designer and love for history in an intriguing project titled Royalty Now. As part of the project, this talented designer reimagines historical figures as everyday people living in modern times.

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According to Saladin, everything started with her curiosity. She sat one day at her home and wondered how Anne Boleyn, Queen of England from the 16th century, would look like with modern hairstyles and some makeup.

“I put her in a modern outfit, painted on her eyelashes, eyebrows, and makeup, and was excited by what I saw,” Saladin told My Modern Met in a recent interview.

After this successful experiment, she started doing more historical figures, and people were absolutely fascinated with her work. The positive feedback encouraged Saladin to dedicate herself to this project, and she now regularly “modernizes” people from different eras. Some of the subjects she chooses by herself, while others are suggested by her social media followers.

Check out some of her awesome works below.

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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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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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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. I didn’t actually know much about him, but I recently watched 8 Days that Made Rome on the Smithsonian channel and I can’t get enough! HIGHLY recommend that series. Anyone else know some good sources to learn more about Emperor Augustus? . . . #EmperorAugustus #Octavius #JuliusCaesar #Rome #RomanEmpire #Emperor #RomanEmperor #Nero #Caligula #Caesar #MarkAnthony #Pompey #RomeHistory #Roma #Photoshop #RoyalFamily #History #Royalty #EuropeanArt #EuropeanHistory #Drawing #GraphicDesign #HistoryMemes #Portrait #ArtRestoration #DigitalArt #ArtOnInstagram #HistoryNerd

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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. . I’m really excited about all of the shows/books/media covering the Wars of the Roses that have been coming out in the last 10 years. What’s your favorite show/book about it? I’d love to dive in even further. . Image credit left: Wikimedia Commons, image credit right: J Stone, Shutterstock . #HenryVII #HenryVIII #ElizabethofYork #AnneBoleyn #ElizabethI #ElizabethWoodville #BritishHistory #KingHenryVII #Photoshop #RoyalFamily #History #Royalty #EuropeanArt #EuropeanHistory #Drawing #GraphicDesign #HistoryMemes #Portrait #ArtRestoration #DigitalArt #ArtOnInstagram #HistoryNerd

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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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