The national poet of Scotland, Robert Burns was a famous poet and lyricist nicknamed the Ploughman Poet and was actually chosen as the greatest Scot of all times by the Scottish public in a vote held in 2009 by a local television channel. His most famous song is Auld Lang Syne, which is traditionally sung in English-speaking countries at the end of the year.
It is said that Burns’ face was depicted in more cities around the world than any other historical figure. He also appeared on stamps in Russia and the United Kingdom and has been featured on Scottish currency. Although the most famous portrayal of the poet was painted in 1787 by Alexander Nasmyth and resides in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The painting was commissioned by Burns’ publisher and was meant to be engraved on a new edition of his poems.
Dante Alighieri
Alighieri has been immortalized as one of the most iconic poets of the middle ages. Born in modern-day Italy, Dante wrote the Divine Comedy or Comedìa. While his work stood the test of time, unfortunately, he didn't. After a scandalous period of accusations of corruption and exile, Dante died of what is believed to be malaria.
He was buried in Ravenna at the Church of San Pier Maggiore (later called Basilica di San Francesco). Bernardo Bembo, the praetor of Venice, erected a tomb for him in 1483. Dante lived to the age of 56 and died in the year 1321. His work has survived centuries and is until this day an inspiration for writers and artists. He certainly left quite the legacy.
Not So Scary Looking
Dante Alighieri has been immortalized as a rather bony-faced and hawk-nosed intellectual. This is mostly due to Raphael's portrait of him. The Italian Renaissance painter was not very forgiving when depicting the literary legend, and while this image of him has made it all the way to Italy's two euro coin, it might not be entirely accurate.
Researchers from the University of Bologna worked on re-piecing the poet and found it to be very different from earlier portraits that were done by Botticelli, Raphael, and Giotto. Professor Giorgio Gruppioni, the lead anthropologist of the team was very happy with the restoration. It took him and two colleagues around a year to complete, he added. If you're eager to check out Dante's death mask, head to Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy!
The Bard’s True Face
The project of reconstructing Robert Burns’ face began in 2010 in a collaborative effort by Scottish poet Robert Burns enthusiast Rab Wilson and Caroline Wilkinson, Professor of Craniofacial Identification. However, in 2016 the LJMU Face Lab got involved and used a partial cast of his skull, relevant documents, and historical portraits to create the 3D model.
But just showing what he looked like wasn’t enough for this team. They wanted to have him actually recite one of his poems. They recorded fellow poet and Scotsman Rab Wilson reciting Burns’ poem, ‘To a Mouse’ and used DI4D’s Facial Motion Capture System at the 3D Visualization Unit at the University of Dundee. They then superimposed Wilson’s facial animation and voice to create the final animation.
Jonathan Swift
The legendary Anglo-Irish author Jonathan Swift was born in 1667. He was known for his satirical style and is most famous for his novel Gulliver’s Travels. Swift was also an essayist who wrote many pieces regarding politics and philosophy. He used his platform to publicly criticize science, which was gaining popularity at the time. In portraits, Swift was often depicted as a stylish gentleman of his times with a white wig and seemingly powdered white face.
Swift worked alongside his muse Esther Johnson (nicknamed Stella by the writer) for most of his life. The nature of their relationship is unclear and has been speculated about since they were both among the living. Johnson basically lived in Swift’s house and there have been rumors that the two were secretly married. If that was the case, it is not clear why it was kept a secret, but we will probably never know.