Sacagawea is one of the most painted, sculpted, and imagined figures of the American West - yet neither Lewis nor Clark ever wrote a single word describing her appearance in their journals. There is no portrait made during her lifetime. What we're left with are guesses, projections, and, too often, wishful fiction.

Marie Antoinette is one of my all time favorite subjects. I love the modern version I created of her using one of her official portraits, but I wanted to create some in-her-own-time images that use more of her real-life appearance rather than the stylized version. It’s pretty obvious how stylized 18th century French portraits are; the huge eyes, tiny noses, and pinched lips. Full video is now up on YouTube: Royalty Now Studios.

For a man who created thousands of sketches, paintings and sculptures - he kept his own appearance mysteriously private. 

In his youth, Leonardo was described as being a beautiful man, with flowing curly hair and everything meticulously groomed. He was broad shouldered and strong throughout his life. We’re not sure of his hair or eye color - but we can imagine the coloring of a stereotypical northern Italian man.

But we may never know for sure what a young Leonardo looked like, because although certain depictions are rumored to be based on his appearance, there is no hard evidence just yet.

Only a few confirmed images of Leonardo that have survived, all sketched when he was in his mid sixties. 

Imagine clawing your way to the top, only for rumors to swirl that you don’t deserve it. That you’re illegitimate. 

In royal circles, it’s not just an insult, spoken in hushed tones - it can be a full-blown constitutional crisis.

From bastard princes to baby-swapping conspiracies, history is full of scandals that shook empires and reorganized the lines of succession.

A famous ancestor of Princess Diana’s, Georgiana Cavendish was one of the most famous and influential women of late-18th-century Britain. Born Georgiana Spencer in 1757, she became Duchess of Devonshire at just 17 after marrying William Cavendish, and quickly rose to celebrity status. Renowned for her beauty, charm, and wit, she was a major figure in fashionable society, a trendsetter in style, and a powerful political hostess who campaigned openly for the Whig Party. Behind the glamour, however, Georgiana’s life was marked by an unhappy marriage, financial struggles, gambling addiction, and deep emotional pain. She died young, at the age of 48, in 1806 - leaving behind a legacy that blends brilliance, influence, and quiet tragedy.

Horace Walpole described Georgiana as “a phenomenon” of fashion, culture, and sophistication - and she genuinely was.

So… what did Moctezuma really look like? The short answer is: unfortunately, we don’t know too much. Aztec portraits weren’t like those from the Maya culture or from Europe. Aztec rulers weren’t painted in a realistic way — figures were shown more symbolically. And after Cortés’s destruction of Tenochtitlan, we’re lucky that anything survives at all.

We’ve done the research. We’ve analyzed the portraits. And we’ve built facial reconstructions of each of Henry VIII’s six Queens based on the best and most recent research out there.

Today, we’re diving into the story of Charlotte Brontë - a woman who lived through heartbreak, isolation, and loss in the harsh world of Industrial Age England, but still managed to turn that pain into timeless art.

Charlotte’s works capture the longing, repression, delight, and grief that defined the women of her day.

But what did Charlotte Bronte really look like?

Blackbeard is a name we all seem to know, gone down in history as one of most legendary pirates of all time. But what do we know about the man behind the flaming beard? Who was he? What did he look like? Today we’ll use contemporary sources to decipher what the legendary pirate could have really looked like.

What is the true face of Anne Boleyn? There is some new compelling evidence that has come to light in the last few years about a lost portrait - called the Lumley Portrait - that may reveal Anne’s true, painted-from-life face to us. I want to talk through this new evidence today and of course bring you some new facial re-creations, since Anne is one of my favorite subjects to talk about.