We’ve grown up seeing certain black and white images over and over again, and it can be hard to imagine what the real-life versions might have looked like. But, sometimes, you wish you could have been there to see it first-hand. The detail on someone’s collar, the sky, or the color of someone’s eyes are things we wish we could see in color. For one young artist, bringing history to life and seeing those details in color has become a passion. And, when you see her versions alongside the originals, you will be stunned! You’ve never seen history like this!

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1860 portrait of Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Hesler.

The Brazilian artist, Marina Amaral, already has an amazing body of work. Her colorized historical photos breathe life into the history lessons we grew up with in school and inspire a deeper understanding of the individuals who have made history over the past 150 years.

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“Council of War” by Timothy O’Sullivan, 1864.

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Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California, 1936, by Dorothea Lange.

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Portrait of Albert Einstein taken in the 1920s.

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Al Capone’s mugshot from 1939.

John F. Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier on their wedding day in 1953, shot by Toni Frissell. Via/ Library of Congress

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Marine baker, Donald Stulp, during World War II.

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Studio portrait of Alfred Hitchcock.

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Che Guevara in 1963, photographed by René Burri.

President Lyndon B. Johnson metting with Martin Luther King, Jr., Whitney Young, and James Farmer in 1964. Photograph by Yoichi Okamoto. Via/ Wiki Commons

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Emiliano Zapata in 1914.

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Australian soldiers in New Guinea, 1943.

Amaral spends a great deal of time researching what colors would be appropriate for different objects, even consulting with historiansto make sure her finished works come out looking as close to the real thing as possible. To be able to look into the blue eyes of Al Capone or to imagine yourself in the tent with Dust Bowl migrant workers is simply amazing!

Click here to view rare color footage from Europe in 1900!

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