Artist Colorizes Historic Black-and-White Photos and the Result is Breathtaking [20 Images]

As humans, we have many senses through which we can experience and explore the world: sight, sound, taste, hearing, and smell. Which one do you rely upon most? If “sight” is your answer, you have something in common with the rest of the world.

Because humans are visual creatures, it can be hard for some to reflect on the past and imagine what life must have been like even a few decades ago. Fortunately, emerging technology is helping with this conundrum. Professional colorist from Brazil, Marina Amaral, recently recolored a series of old photos. To say the result is breathtaking is an understatement.

As Bored Panda reports, Amaral is a Photoshop enthusiast and a history buff. Recoloring photos is a way she can merge both interests. In 2015, Amaral was scrolling through a history forum on the internet when she came across colorized photos of WWI. Inspired by the images, Amaral began adding color to old black and white photos. Most importantly, she does extensive research on the images to ensure every detail is as realistic as possible.

The recolored images allow people to experience and reflect on the past in a new way. Said Amaral, “Each photo is made to be realistic by recognizing the value behind each one of them, respecting and preserving their stories, paying attention to the finer details and maintaining their original essence.”

“Every completed work has gone through long and in-depth research, and is supported by the opinions of experts in each particular area if necessary, to faithfully reproduce the original colors and atmosphere,” she added. “My work ranges from simple portraits to complex and detailed images, taken from various historical periods covering a wide range of topics.”

Following are 10+ examples of Amaral’s work: 

1) Ruby Bridges, Escorted By US Marshals To Attend An All-White School, 1960

Credit: Marina Amaral

2) Cree Man, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada, 1903

Credit: Marina Amaral

3) Monet

Credit: Marina Amaral

4) A Photographer Uses His Own Backdrop To Mask Poland’s World War II Ruins While Shooting A Portrait In Warsaw In November 1946

Credit: Marina Amaral

5) Lewis Powell, a Conspirator With John Wilkes Booth (Who Assassinated President Abraham Lincoln)

Credit: Marina Amaral

6) Four Female Pilots Leaving Their Ship, Pistol Packin’ Mama, At The Four Engine School At Lockbourne AAF, 1944

Credit: Marina Amaral

7) Marie Sklodowska Curie

Credit: Marina Amaral

8) Queen Elizabeth II

Credit: Marina Amaral

9) Banana Docks, New York. CA 1890 – 1910

Credit: Marina Amaral

10) Finnish Sniper Simo Häyhä, White Death

Credit: Marina Amaral

11) Titanic Orphans, Brothers Michel And Edmond Navratil, 1912. They Were The Only Children To Be Rescued From The Titanic Without A Parent Or Guardian

Credit: Marina Amaral

12) Eunice Hancock, A 21-Year-Old Woman, Operates A Compressed-Air Grinder In A Midwest Aircraft Plant During World War II. August 1942

Credit: Marina Amaral

13) Participants Of The 5th Solvay Conference On Quantum Mechanics, 1927

Credit: Marina Amaral

14) 14 Young Kenyan Woman Holding A Dik-Dik, Mombasa, 1909

Credit: Marina Amaral

15) Coronation Of Queen Elizabeth II. 2 June, 1953

Credit: Marina Amaral

16) Roza Shanina, A 19-Year-Old Russian WWII Sniper With 59 Confirmed Kills

Credit: Marina Amaral

17) Men Of 72 Highlanders Who Served In The Crimea: William Noble, Alexander Davison And John Harper, 1853 – 1856

Credit: Marina Amaral

18) Senator John F. Kennedy And Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy On Their Wedding Day. September 12, 1953

Credit: Marina Amaral

19) Hermann Göring Sits In The Dock At The Nuremberg Trial, 1946

Credit: Marina Amaral

20) Grigori Rasputin. Lover Of The Russian Empress

Credit: Marina Amaral

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h/t Bored Panda