What 14 People Known Only Through Portraits Actually Looked Like

Photo editing may seem like a modern innovation, but the desire to enhance appearances has existed for centuries. Long before the advent of Photoshop, artists and photographers used various techniques to perfect portraits. By exploring historical archives, we uncovered photographs of royalty alongside images of individuals who modeled for renowned artists and compared them to their portraits.

Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881 — 1925)

Isabella II of Spain (1830 — 1904)

Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria’s fifth daughter (1857 — 1944)

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the mother of Queen Elizabeth II (1900 — 2002)

Friedericke Maria Beer (1891 — 1980)

Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (1846 — 1923)

Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands (1818 — 1877)

Queen Victoria (1819 — 1901)

Maria Christina of Austria, Queen-consort of Spain (1858 — 1929)

Mary of Teck, the spouse of George V (1867 — 1953)

Princess Alice of Battenberg, the mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II (1885 — 1969)

Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress (1840 — 1901)

Alexandra of Denmark, the spouse of Edward VII (1844 — 1925)

Nan Wood Graham (1899 — 1990) and Byron H. McKeeby (1867 — 1950)

Stay tuned and get ready to be amazed — or perhaps bewildered — by these famous portraits that, quite frankly, deviate significantly from reality.