An artist has used AI to create a ‘very realistic’ statue of the Virgin Mary, showing her as a teenage girl with long black hair, dark eyes and a darker skin tone.
Miguel Ángel Omaña Rojas, from Mexico, reconstructed the face of the Virgin of Guadalupe as she appeared on a cloth worn by Saint Juan in Mexico more than 700 years ago.
The technology spent weeks analyzing Mary’s image, studying each part to “capture gestures and expressions in a dynamic way.”
The statue of the Virgin Mary, they said, will allow the world to “finally see what the most famous woman… looked like in real life.”
Although Mary was thought to be from the Middle East, cultures have changed her appearance to suit their local populations, such as why the Virgin of Guadalupe is depicted as having a combination of indigenous and European heritage.
Theologians have suggested that Mary also chooses her form when she appears, making her a familiar face to her followers.
Pat Mora, author of the children’s book The Beautiful Lady: Our Lady of Guadalupe, told NBC News, “She is used as a symbol of justice.
‘That’s because she appeals to the poor, to marginalized people. Today we can see her as a representative of people who stand against oppression and declare their independence.’
A new AI-generated image revealed what she looked like in real life, showing her with olive skin, a long nose, heart-shaped lips and brown eyes and hair
The team reconstructed the face of the Virgin of Guadalupe as she appeared on a cloth worn by St. Juan in Mexico more than 700 years ago
Christians believe that Mary left a miraculous image of her appearance on his mantle of cactus fibers, or tilma, which is still visible to all in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Omaña Rojas shot the images in 2021, but they have resurfaced online as believers praised the results.
Its AI system identified key features, such as her facial structure, skin tone and expression, from Mary’s face to recreate the lifelike photos.
The technology then used pre-trained models, such as those trained on large datasets of human faces and bodies, to “translate” abstract or stylized features into realistic ones.
Omaña Rojas also used a database of real human features so that the AI could find similarities to those of Mary of Guadalupe, which it then synthesized into a lifelike image.
The AI completed the project by adding realistic textures to Mary’s skin and hair, bringing her to life.
“This is the most faithful approach that artificial intelligence has been able to perform,” Omaña Rojas shared in a video to his YouTube account Anahuac Encyclopedia.
People commented on the images (pictured) saying Mary looked exactly as they imagined
The researchers used the image to recreate Mary’s appearance using AI, which studied the images for weeks to capture her appearance
According to the Bible, when Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph presented him to the church to be blessed, when a man named Simeon, who said he was waiting for the coming of the Messiah to save Israel, prophesied the death of their baby .
“This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall and many others to rise. He was sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him,” said Simeon, according to Luke:2.
“As a result, the innermost thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your soul.”
The Christian faith believes that Jesus was crucified nearly 2,000 years ago, in the spring of 33 AD, for claiming to be the king of the Jews, which was considered treason against the Roman emperor and a crime punishable by death.
After his crucifixion, “Mary sank to her knees, her pain too deep for words,” says the book of Matthew 27:45.
‘Still in her ears rang the last cry of her son as he died after hours of torture. By noon the sky had darkened. Now the earth shook violently.’