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When you see famous portraits from Ye Olden Days, you may wonder what you would have looked like back then. Your curiosity may be satisfied by a Google app that can delight or perhaps horrify you.
Google Arts & Culture is an app that can now show your closest match to a famous portrait. Its new Face Match feature offers to match a selfie of you, or a friend, with a famous portrait.
You may be the spitting image of a famous person in history. Or you may closely resemble someone you’ve never heard of before. Or you may think Google is way off in pairing you with artwork.
Either way you can have a giggle seeing which portrait you’re paired with!
How to Use Google Arts & Culture Face Match
To join in on the fun, first download the free app:
After you download the app, scroll down on the home page until you see this:
Tap the Get Started button. You’ll need to give the app access to your camera, but Google assures us that our images will only be used for the purposes of Face Match within the app.
When the camera opens, you can take a selfie for the app to match. Sorry, you can’t use a different photo of yourself, such as the awesome shot you have from last summer while on vacation.
Your photo will turn to black and white while the app processes the information. Then you’ll see your perfect match….
Or nearly perfect. Google gives you a choice of five different matches, with the percentage it thinks the portrait resembles your face.
I honestly had no idea that I resembled George Washington before I started using this app!
The selfie doesn’t have to be you. The app can match selfies of your friends, if you can convince them to try the app.
But Face Match doesn’t work with pets. I tried to use a selfie of my pup Astro but the app said there was no match.
=> Learn more about Google Arts & Culture at 16 Google Services to Make Your Life Easier.
A Warning Before Using Google Arts & Culture Face Match
Before you get started using this app, remember that standards of beauty were very different in the past. Also remember, this app is for fun. The goofier the match, the funnier the results. And this feature is based on a Google algorithm, not someone at Google trying to insult you.
Don’t expect a truly perfect match. Sometimes the results seem to be based more on facial expression than an actual resemblance of facial features. Also, don’t be disappointed if the app doesn’t match you with someone of the same age, gender or ethnicity as you.
In other words, proceed only if you have a well-honed ability to laugh at yourself!
Trending on Twitter
Twitter users had fun this weekend playing with this app and sharing their matches. “Google Arts & Culture” was trending all weekend as people delighted in posting their doppelgänger portraits.
My highest match is 34%. I only look 1% more like the woman in Mann’s “The Blue Coat” than I look like this dude. I’m just going to lean into it and grow the mustache. pic.twitter.com/8KpDxA6klN
— Haley Lindsey (@ham_linds) January 14, 2018
— Amy Berman (@amyrberman) January 14, 2018
Hey this one ain’t so bad. pic.twitter.com/er0FxZNVO8
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) January 13, 2018
Sharing Is Caring
You can have even more fun with the app by sharing your results with others on social media. The sharing button in the app lets you send your results directly to your favorite social media sites. That way you can join in on this Twitter trending topic.
Other Reasons to Use Google Arts & Culture
After you’ve had enough fun matching your face to famous portraits, check out the other useful features of the Google Arts & Culture app. You can see what museums are near you and explore exhibits at those museums.
The app lets you experience artwork from around the world, without ever leaving home. Search for keywords to find artwork, musical performances, artists and museums of interest. See news about art, exhibits and artists.
I downloaded the Google Arts & Culture app so I could do the fun selfie game, but it’s not available to me for some reason, so now I’m just stuck with this incredible educational resource that I can use at any time. Ugh!
— Natasha Negovanlis (@natvanlis) January 14, 2018
The app may even inspire your next trip!
Also see, Field Trip – Discover the World Around You!
This video introduces Google Arts & Culture:
Google Arts & Culture is also a website, so you can enjoy its tools from your computer. Note that the website does not have the Face Match feature.
Your Thoughts
Have you tried Face Match on the Google Arts & Culture app? Are you brave enough to confess which portrait you matched with? Were you delighted or horrified by the match?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
