The aesthetics of official portraits of world leaders are no accident. As photographer / artist Alejandro Almaraz demonstrates in his series, “Portraits of Power,” they’re precisely constructed compositions, created with the intention of reinforcing the authority of their subjects.

Almaraz created the images by overlapping between four and 40 photos (and sometimes paintings) of successive heads of state, procured over “many, many hours at the library.”

But the question remains whether the similarity is linked entirely to the composition of these ‘official portraits’ or whether there is a striking resemblance among leaders of countries over generations.

All the British prime ministers elected under Queen Elizabeth II (1952–2008)

All the prime ministers of Japan during the Showa period (1926–1947)

All the leaders of the Soviet Union (1917–1991)

All the presidents of South Africa post-apartheid (1994–2008)

All the presidents of the United States from 1789 to 1889