Historical personalities in realistic photographic portraits created using a neural network: From Jesus to Van Gogh

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

A year ago, Bas (Bas Uterwijk) began experimenting with the idea of recreating portraits of real as well as fictional historical figures. And since then, he has created many faces that are impressive in their realism. According to the photographer and digital artist, it all started with a photograph of the notorious criminal Billy the Kid, and after seeing the positive results, the man continued his experiments by recreating the portrait of Napoleon. And then it started as if on a knurled one and among his digital creations you can see not only Julius Caesar, but Jesus Christ, however, like Queen Elizabeth I, Frankenstein and even the pretty face of the Statue of Liberty.

In a recent interview with Bored Panda, the artist said that, in his opinion, the human face has not changed dramatically over the years - only hairstyles and makeup have changed. However, despite this, the viewer often sees distorted portraits of people in ancient art forms.

Recently, Bas began experimenting with generative adversarial neural networks (mainly Artbreeder) and believes that one day it may become the successor to photography.

- explains the artist.

Bas also says that when using the program, he allows the AI to do most of the work, but sometimes he needs to do a little work in Photoshop, finishing up clothes and classic (typical for that time) hairstyles.

The artist himself considers his works on the verge of artistic impressions, rather than as scientifically based works. And yet, in most cases, for many specialists, its results seem much closer to reality than most of the other methods that are still used in face reconstruction.

1. Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal creation on Liberty Island at the top of New York Bay, USA, commemorating the friendship between the peoples of the United States and France. The ninety-three-meter structure, including the pedestal, is a woman holding a torch in her raised right hand and a plaque with the date of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in her left.

This statue is one of the main attractions of the Big Apple, as well as a favorite place for tourists who, upon arrival, rush to climb the observation deck in the crown of the figure. The sign at the entrance on the pedestal flaunts Emma Lazarus' sonnet The New Colossus (1883), painted to help raise money for the pedestal.

2. Van Gogh

Van Gogh, the eldest of six children of a Protestant pastor, was born and raised in a small village in the Brabant region of the south of the Netherlands. He was a quiet, reserved youth who spent his free time wandering around and observing nature. At sixteen, he was an apprentice at the Hague branch of art dealers Goupil and Co., with his uncle as a partner.

Daily exposure to art awakened an artistic sensibility in him, and he soon developed a taste for Rembrandt, Frans Galls and other Dutch masters, although he had a preference for two contemporary French artists, Jean-François Millet and Camille Corot, whose influence persisted throughout his life.

Vincent did not like to trade in works of art. Moreover, his approach to life was clouded when his love was rejected by a girl. His burning desire for human affection was suppressed, and he became increasingly lonely, heading into work.

Vincent worked as a language teacher and lay preacher in England, and in 1877 worked for a bookseller in Dordrecht, the Netherlands. Driven by a passionate desire to serve humanity, he set out to enter the ministry and study theology. However, in 1878 he abandoned this venture for a short-term training as an Evangelist in Brussels. A conflict with authority arose when he challenged the orthodox doctrinal approach. Not being assigned after three months, he left to do missionary work among the impoverished population of Borinage, a coal-mining region in southwestern Belgium. There, in the winter of 1879-80, he experienced the first great spiritual crisis in his life. Living among the poor, Vincent, in a fit of passion, gave up all his worldly goods, after which he was dismissed by the church authorities for too literal interpretation of Christian doctrine.

Left penniless and feeling that his faith was destroyed, he fell into despair and estranged himself from everyone.

It was then that he began to paint seriously, thereby discovering in 1880 his true vocation as an artist. Vincent decided that his mission from then on would be to bring comfort to humanity through art. This awareness of his creative powers gave him back his confidence.

But, unfortunately, his creative career was extremely short (ten years). During the first four years of this period, acquiring technical skills, he almost completely confined himself to drawings and watercolors. He first studied drawing at the Brussels Academy, and in 1881 he moved to his father's house in Etten, the Netherlands, and began working from life. Vincent's career was not easy, but interesting. He learned a lot from other masters, improving his techniques and skills. And as a result, he managed to become one of the most outstanding artists of that time, going down in history and leaving an indelible mark on it.

3. Fayum burial portraits

Fayum burial portraits created in the encaustic technique dating from the Roman period (1st to 4th century) have been found in Egyptian tombs throughout Egypt, but especially in the Al-Fayum oasis. The depictions of the head and bust of the deceased are made either on wooden tablets (about 43 by 23 cm) and placed under the bandages covering the mummy's face, or on the linen shroud itself. They are colored with tempera or pigments mixed with liquid beeswax.

4. David (Michelangelo)

David, marble sculpture made from 1501 to 1504 by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo. The statue was commissioned for one of the buttresses of Florence Cathedral and was carved from a piece of marble. After Michelangelo completed the sculpture, the Florentine government decided that this creation is worthy of everyone's attention, and as a result, the statue was placed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The original is now in the Accademia, and copies are installed in Piazza Signoria and Piazza Michelangelo, overlooking Florence.

5. Jesus

Jesus, also called Jesus Christ, Jesus of Galilee or Jesus of Nazareth (born about 6-4 BC, Bethlehem - died about 30 AD, Jerusalem), a religious leader revered in Christianity, one of the major world religions. Most Christians regard him as an incarnation of God. And the history of Christian reflection on the teachings and nature of Jesus is considered in the article "Christology".

Ancient Hebrews usually had only one name, and when more specificity was required, the Father's name or place of origin was usually added. Thus, during his lifetime, Jesus was called Jesus the son of Joseph (Luke 4:22; John 1:45, 6:42), Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 10:38) or Jesus of Nazareth (Mark 1:24; Luke 24:19). After his death, he began to be called Jesus Christ. Christ was originally not a name, but a title derived from the Greek word christos, which translates to the Hebrew term meshiah (Messiah), which means "anointed one."This title indicates that Jesus' followers considered him the anointed son of King David (Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecy of the seed of David), which the Jews expected to restore Israel's prosperity.

6. Napoleon

Napoleon was born in Corsica shortly after the Genoese ceded the island to France. He was the fourth and second surviving child of lawyer Carlo Buonaparte and his wife Letizia Ramolino. His father's family, descended from the old Tuscan nobility, emigrated to Corsica in the 16th century.

A French general, first consul (1799-1804) and emperor of France (1804-1814 / 15), Napoleon was one of the most famous characters in Western history. He revolutionized military organization and training, sponsored the Napoleonic Code, the prototype of later civil codes, reorganized education, and established a long-lived concordat with the papacy.

Napoleon's numerous reforms left an indelible mark on the institutions of France and much of Western Europe. But his main passion was the military expansion of French rule, and although after his fall he left France little more than she was at the beginning of the 1789 revolution, he was almost unanimously revered during his lifetime and until the end of the Second Empire under the leadership of his nephew Napoleon III as one of history's greatest heroes.

7. Rembrandt

Rembrandt is known for his outstanding ability to convey the human figure and its emotions. He was also extraordinarily gifted as an artist. The way he handled his pen or chalk, engraving needle or brush, gives off a great sensitivity and spontaneity, and the resulting work conveys a sense of freedom and creativity. Rembrandt pondered and experimented with a keen mind, approaching art with particular originality. He paid special attention to all kinds of compositions, as well as the role of tone and color in creating a pictorial space, not forgetting about light, shadow and reflection, remembering how to vary the properties of his paint to obtain specific effects.

Another aspect of Rembrandt's genius is the keen and loving attention with which he observed the world around him. In his portrayal of women and children, animals and landscapes, he showed a deep understanding of important details, but he celebrated these impressions with extraordinary freedom and economy. This dual quality made him a model for later artists and, in a sense, one of the first "modern" artists.

Van Rijn was an innovator in all three of his techniques. From his early, colorful historical paintings to his brilliant late works, it is clear that he was an artist constantly on the lookout for new stylistic ways of expression, and that he belongs to that small category of masters whose development never stopped. Harmens' evolution culminated in his remarkable late style, which is generally considered the pinnacle of his art. In this sense, he can be compared with artists such as Titian and Goya, or with composers such as Beethoven and Verdi.

8. Billy the Kid

Born on the East Side of New York, Billy moved with his parents to Kansas as a child. His father died there, and his mother and her two sons moved to Colorado, where she remarried. The family moved to New Mexico, and in his early teens, Billy took up theft and lawlessness, roaming the southwest and north of Mexico, often with gangs. In December 1880, he was captured by Sheriff Patrick Floyd Garrett and tried for murder in Mesilla, New Mexico in April 1881. Kid was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. However, on April 30, he escaped from prison, killing two sheriff's deputies, and remained at large until he was tracked down and ambushed by Garrett, who shot him on the evening of July 14 at Pete Maxwell's ranch. Billy the Kid's grave is in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.

9. Frankenstein

Frankenstein, an American horror film released in 1931 that was based on a stage adaptation of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein, or Prometheus Modern.

The film's clumsy monster, portrayed by Boris Karloff, is one of the most recognizable characters in film history.

The film begins with a prologue that warns viewers of the scary story that follows. In a castle in the Bavarian Mountains, Dr. Henry Frankenstein (played by Colin Clive) and his hunchbacked assistant Fritz (Dwight Fry) manage to assemble a human body from parts stolen from various corpses. As they prepare to electrify him, they are joined in the lab by a former Frankenstein professor, Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan), his fiancée Elizabeth (May Clark), and his friend Victor (John Bowles), all begging Frankenstein in vain to reconsider the experiment. … Unbeknownst to Frankenstein, the brain that Fritz acquired to create them is the brain of a criminal, which supposedly explains the monster's outbursts of anger when it finally comes to life. After killing Fritz and Waldman, the creature, created from different body parts, escapes from the castle.

Later, the monster manages to make friends with a young girl (Marilyn Harris) in the nearby countryside, but one day he accidentally drowns her in a lake. Eventually, the village crowd gathers the crowd and traps the monster in an abandoned windmill, which the crowd then sets on fire, apparently destroying the monster.

The film spawned a makeshift industry of sequels, including Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939), as well as many remakes. Scenes that were originally cut or censored from the film, such as the prologue and the young girl drowning scene, have since been restored. Makeup artist Jack Pearce, who was in charge of the monster's distinctive appearance, went on to create costumes for several other notable Universal Pictures creatures, including the main characters in The Mummy (1932) and The Wolf Man (1941).

10. Sandro Botticelli

The name Botticelli comes from the name of his older brother Giovanni, a loan shark named Botticello (small barrel).

As is often the case with Renaissance artists, most of the modern information about the life and character of Botticelli is gleaned from the biographies of the most prominent artists, sculptors and architects Giorgio Vasari, supplemented and corrected from documents.

Botticelli's father was a tanner and after graduation he gave Sandro an apprentice to a jeweler. But since Sandro preferred painting, his father gave him under the wing of Filippo Lippi, one of the most revered Florentine masters.

Lippi's painting style, formed in the early Florentine Renaissance, was fundamental in the work of Botticelli himself, and his influence is noticeable even in the later works of his student. Lippi taught Botticelli the technique of panels and frescoes and gave him confident control over linear perspective. Stylistically, Botticelli acquired from Lippi a repertoire of types and compositions, some graceful quirkiness in costumes, a linear sense of form and a fondness for some of the paler shades that are still visible even after Botticelli developed his own strong and resonant color schemes.

Bass is not the only person who is fond of recreating portraits of prominent personalities. For example, Becca Saladin showed her series of portraits, in which she presented for all to see not only what they might look like today.