The Regal Twelve

I'm a history buff. I don't much care for the battles, but other than that, almost anything goes. I can even be interested in foreign policy if it ended up being important (like Elizabeth I's).

I do, however, have a tendency to romanticize the past when left to my own devices.

I also love portrait photography.

So this series by Alexia Sinclair is probably, to date, my favorite photoshop-enhanced shoot ever.

Elizabeth I-The Virgin Queen

Isabella of Spain-The Catholic

Boudica-The Celtic Queen

Agrippina-The Poisoness

Cleopatra-The Seductress

Eleanor of Aquitaine-The Eagle

Catherine the Great-The Enlightened Empress

Marie Antoinette-The Extravagant Queen

Christina of Sweden-The Androgynous Queen

Elizabeth Bathory-The Countess of Blood

Alexandra Romanov-The Last Czarina of Russia

Olympias-The Sorceress

Sinclair set out not to portray "conventional rulers," but rather, those who had an influence on society and ruled both as male and female (yay!). Each "portrait," as she calls them, has a myriad of symbols pertaining to that ruler.

"Exploring the complexities of each ruler, The Regal Twelve celebrates historical realities within the guise of contemporary fantasy, a kind of conversation between the past and present."

m.

All images and quoted text courtesy of http://alexiasinclair.com/the-regal-twelve

All images © Alexia Sinclair 1999 - 2010