“It carries a universal message of peace with the synthesis of a multitude of faces, of lives carried away in the whirlwind of the Great War.”
FRANCE’S Historial de la Grande Guerre is marking the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War with the unveiling of a remarkable computer-generated photograph.
For the past 10 months the museum has been digitally blending the portraits of tens of thousands of soldiers from all nations who fought in the conflict into one haunting composite image of a single human likeness. Organizers are calling it “The Unknown Face.”
“It carries a universal message of peace with the synthesis of a multitude of faces, of lives carried away in the whirlwind of the Great War,” writes the Historial de la Grande Guerre.
A special computer algorithm helped layer the photos. The museum expects the Unknown Face to evolve over time as more portraits are collected from archives and added.
An interactive website launched by the Historial de la Grande Guerre profiles a cross-section of the individual soldiers, sailors, fliers and nurses whose faces make up the image, while also offering a behind-the-scenes exploration of the technology behind the project. To experience it for yourself, CLICK HERE.
