Many bloggers have commented on this image - 2008's best guess about what J. S. Bach actually looked like. I had assummed that most of the cognitive dissonance we experience when looking at this seemingly unfamiliar face had to do with the absence of powdered wig, dresscoat, etc. It's like hearing the Goldberg Variations played on electric guitars - too cold and modern to synch up smoothly with our associations.So, a little amatuer Photoshopping later and, behold: see how much more convincing it is when put in the proper context. One can now see those eyes lighting up at the thought of six-part fugues, mind-blowing canons, and heartrending chorale settings. But . . .
. . . then I came upon Mark Connor's startling discovery.
1 comment:
Say, that's not half bad. I do think that the actual portrait (not the skull rendering) is still quite good, and that is still what I would like to believe Bach looked like.
By the way, my students got a serious kick out of the perpetual modulating canon you made as an animation. Thank you so much for putting it on YouTube.
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