TOPIC:

This is just a bit of fun turning an image of a painting into a AI photorealistic image. It came out rather well so I thought I’d share it.

‘Signing the treaty of peace at Pretoria’ by John Henry Frederick Bacon (1868-1914) which was used as an illustration in “The King’s Empire” published by Cassell in 1910. Boer General Christiaan de Wet signs the treaty, watched closely by the British Commander in Chief Horatio Herbert Kitchener. British Colonial Governor Sir Alfred Milner sits to the left of Kitchener, while Boer General James Barry Munnik Hertzog (to the right of de Wet) talks to Captain Henley, Secretary to Milner.

Ian, very nice work, amazing what can be done with AI. I tried to attribute names to the original picture which proved difficult and I gladly stand corrected. I do not think it was de Wet signing as he was a relatively small man, and in the painting seems to be sitting next to who I think is Acting ZAR President Burger. There is another version of the scene where de Wet is indeed the man holding the pen. Capt Baird, Intelligence Officer on Kitchener’s staff is a very loose attribution as I couldn’t find an image of him. Captain Raymond Marker is pretty certain. He was also on Kitchener’s staff and will be the subject of one of my future posts.




Very similar depiction of the scene

Interesting. The naming on the painting I included came from two art websites so assumed they were correct and the man signing always looked to me like De Wet. I’ll have to find the sites again.

Looking forward to your next post then. I find working out who’s who, especially Aide-de-Camp’s and Intelligence Officers very interesting.

Here's my attempt