Many famous portraits come from another era, so it's difficult to imagine the subjects living and breathing, let alone how they'd look in the modern day. To change this, a digital artist has created a series of work which uses hyper-technological neural networking to bring well-known faces hurtling into the modern world.
You might think you know the faces of famous portrait subjects intimately well. Some art lovers know the dimensions, features and characteristics of faces, such as the Mona Lisa, better than some loved ones. But what would they look like if they were around now?
Denis Shiryaev has used his technical skills (and some top-level digital art software) to upscale old pictures and video, and has turned his attention to portraits of old. See the video below for a highly entertaining summary of his process.
In case you were wondering, neural networking is a form of AI, which is commonly used in deepfakes, but also in digital art to create new effects. Essentially, the programming uses other people's faces taken from video and photo, and applies it to pre-existing imagery using algorithms to match up characteristics and features.
Shiryaev used these techniques on well-known portraits to give an impression of how they could look in real life. Here are some of our favourite examples of Shiryaev's work, all of which we could imagine popping up on Instagram, or walking into a bar near us.
Perhaps the most famous face in all of the art world, Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa looks fresh and youthful when given an AI makeover.
(Image credit: Denis Shiryaev via Bored Panda)
Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl earring has time travelled all the way from 1665.
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(Image credit: Denis Shiryaev via Bored Panda)
And the star of Rembrandt van Rijn's The Night Watch (1642) looks full of purpose (plus, quite a bit younger, and ruggedly handsome).
(Image credit: Denis Shiryaev via Bored Panda)
The couple in Grant Wood's American Gothic look just as stern as in the 1930s, but now you can imagine them standing outside your neighbourhood church.
(Image credit: Denis Shiryaev via Bored Panda)
Though these digital portraits aren't historically accurate, they are a fun glimpse at how the subjects could look now, and somehow make the characters feel a bit more real.
Georgia has worked on Creative Bloq since 2018, and has been the site's Editor since 2023. With a specialism in branding and design, Georgia is also Programme Director of CB's award scheme – the Brand Impact Awards. As well as immersing herself with the industry through attending events like Adobe Max and the D&AD Awards and steering the site's content streams, Georgia has an eye on new commercial opportunities and ensuring they reflect the needs and interests of creatives.
