Unknown past: how color enlivens historical photos

When we think about the past, we often imagine it in black and white. After all, most of the photos taken in the first half of the XX century and earlier are black and white, and there is a catch in this: looking at them, it's easy to forget that other colors actually existed at that time.

But we have the opportunity to look at history in a new way thanks to the artist Marina Amaral, who paints historical photos very realistically. Combining a flair for visual aesthetics and excellent Photoshop skills, Marina masterfully revives the past.

The effect of colorization presents to us the affairs of bygone days as something much closer than we used to think, and allows a modern audience to experience historical footage more emotionally.

On her website , the artist notes: "When we look at a black-and-white photo that has become colored, we get the impression that we are living this moment again." Just look at the photo below to understand what she means.

Buddhist monk sets himself on fire in protest against government policy, South Vietnam, 1963.

Victims of American bombing.

A French boy meets Indian soldiers.

Abraham Lincoln.

The pilot of an airmail plane.

Broad Street, New York.

Elvis Presley with his wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa Maria.

French boys look at the German Panther tank that was hit.

John and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Prisoners of the Webbelin concentration camp.

Doctors of the 5th and 6th Engineering special brigades of the USA.

Polish refugees.

Drink Dr Pepper!

Winston Churchill.

Canadian soldiers during World War II.

Unemployed in San Francisco.

The team of the M10 anti-tank self-propelled artillery installation ("Wolverine").