Portraits Of Henry VIII And The Women In His Life Vs. What They’d Look Like Today

History can be fascinating, but how do you relate to historical figures who inhabited such vastly different time periods? We can picture the lives, daily struggles, and in some cases even the internal monologues of famous historical figures, but when we try to see the figures themselves, all we have to go on are stuffy descriptions, old portraits (if we’re lucky), and maybe a Hollywood actor’s portrayal. One artist is helping to fix that.

Becca Saladin runs Royalty Now, and her passion for art, history, design, and Photoshop is bringing history to life for thousands of followers on social media. Becca says she modernizes portraits of people from the past so that «we can learn about the past with a little more empathy for the figures involved.»

These portraits bring us a step closer to relating to the women in the life of Henry VIII, as well as the king himself, and reveal what they may have looked like in a modern context. These portraits, and more of Becca Saladin’s work, can be found on the Royalty Now Instagram and Etsy store. You can see the process behind the portraits on her YouTube channel.