The photo is way better than the painting.
What People Whose Appearance We Know Only From Portraits Actually Looked Like
Photo editing might seem like a modern-day invention, but the desire to enhance appearances has been around for centuries. Long before Photoshop, artists and photographers found ways to perfect portraits. We dug through historical archives to uncover photos of royalty from the 19th and early 20th centuries and compared them to their painted portraits.
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (1846 — 1923)
Isabella II of Spain (1830 — 1904)
Friedericke Maria Beer (1891 — 1980)
Alexandra of Denmark, the spouse of Edward VII (1844 — 1925)


Looks like a man
Victoria, Princess Royal, German Empress (1840 — 1901)
Vincent van Gogh (1853 — 1890)
Mary of Teck, the spouse of George V (1867 — 1953)


Looks like a man
Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, Empress of Austria (1792 — 1873)


You can tell her family tree didn't branch out
Sophie of Württemberg, Queen of the Netherlands (1818 — 1877)


Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, Duchess of Teck (1833 — 1897)
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the mother of Queen Elizabeth II (1900 — 2002)


The only one so far that is almost spot on.
Maria Christina of Austria, Queen-consort of Spain (1858 — 1929)
Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Parma, Princess-consort of Bulgaria (1870 — 1899)


Photo is way better but she wasn't cute at all
Princess Alice of Battenberg, the mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II (1885 — 1969)
Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia (1882 — 1957)
Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria’s fifth daughter (1857 — 1944)


Painting for sure
Alexandra Feodorovna, the spouse of Nicholas II of Russia (1872 — 1918)
Queen Victoria (1819 — 1901)
Charlotte of Belgium (1840 — 1927)


Ugh none of these women are appealing to the eye. The all look masculine is some way. Definitely not even cute. I guess royal equals unattractive.
Skilled retouchers existed even in the 19th century, carefully altering photos to make subjects look their best. Even painters were known to tweak their work, subtly enhancing features to present models in a more flattering light.
Comments
Some of them are so far of as if the artist was trying to capture something flattering!

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