Have you seen a modern "double" in an Old Master? Tell us at the foot of this article and we'll add to the gallery

The portraits brought together for Renaissance Faces are in one sense a window on the past, revealing sitters from half a millennium ago who range from courtier to commoner. Yet, far from appearing as if they come from an entirely different world, if you look closely, some of these people seem incredibly familiar.

Many of the pictures bear striking resemblance to some of the contemporary celebrities who adorn our newspapers, suggesting that, in 500 years, certain facial types have changed very little. The paintings are drawn from both northern and southern European countries, and were produced by a wide range of artists, including Van Eyck, Hol-bein, Dürer, Raphael, Titian and Bellini. Selections from the National Gallery’s rich collection are combined in the show with important loans. Portraiture is still one of the most popular forms of art, and playing “spot the likeness” makes it all the more entertaining.

Scarlett Johansson/ Portrait of a Lady

The Hollywood actress’s features are mirrored in Maerten van Heemskerck’s Portrait of a Lady with Spindle and Distaff (1529-31). As with many portraits, the picture gives clues to the unknown sitter’s status. Her dress is expensive, suggesting that she is a member of the nobility, and the activity of spinning indicates wifely virtue. So, she’s rich and socially upstanding - a good role model for Scarlett the starlet?

Vladimir Putin/Giovanni Arnolfini

One of the National’s most famous paintings, Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini and His Wife (1434) - once known as the Arnolfini Wedding - contains a striking lookalike of the Russian leader, though it is thought to depict a family from Lucca, at the time resident in Bruges. This full-length double portrait is a very early example of such a picture in a domestic setting. It is particularly noted for including a mirror that reflects two men, one of them thought to be van Eyck himself.

Allison Janney/Saint Constance

Saint Constance is depicted in this bust, also known as The Beautiful Florentine, produced by the circle of Desiderio da Settignano (about 1450-75). Her beauty is echoed in the face of West Wing veteran Allison Janney. A real woman was probably used as a model, as no direct portraits of Constance exist, though it’s said that she was the daughter of Dorotheus, King of Constantinople, and was one of 11,000 virgins martyred alongside Saint Ursula.

Gael Garcia Bernal/The Tailor

The thoughtful expression of Giovanni Battista Moroni’s The Tailor (1565-70) is reminiscent of the Mexican actor, who played Che Guevara in The Motorcycle Diaries. This picture shows a middle-class professional at work - it has him cutting cloth - and the subject directly engages with the viewer in an appealing way. Moroni’s craftsman and his modern lookalike both attract with their pensive manner and liquid eyes.

Ken Stott/The Duke of Urbino

Justus of Ghent’s Federico de Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and his son Guidobaldo (about 1477) is a celebration of man who was both scholar and soldier. The Scottish actor Ken Stott displays a strong resemblance to this rich and important figure, who is depicted in several other portraits of the time. Here he is shown in full armour, reading a book with his young son beside him. Truly a Renaissance man - Stott can only hope to follow suit.

Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian is at the National Gallery, WC2, from October 15

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