Artificial intelligence (AI) can be trained to see details in images that are invisible to the human eye. An AI neural network has identified something unusual about the face in a Raphael painting. It wasn't actually painted by Raphael.
The face in question is that of St. Joseph, and can be seen in the upper left of the painting. madonna della rosa (or madonna of roses).
In fact, scholars have long debated whether this painting is an original by Raphael. Although a variety of evidence is needed to conclude an artwork's provenance, a new analysis method based on AI algorithms is gaining support among people who believe that at least some of the strokes are the work of another artist.
British and American researchers have developed a custom analysis algorithm based on works known to be the result of the Italian master's brushstrokes.
“Using detailed feature analysis, we use photographs of authenticated Raphael paintings to recognize his style to an extremely detailed level, from brushstrokes to color palettes to shading to every aspect of the work. We trained the computer to do it,” said Hassan, a mathematician and computer scientist. Ugair, from the University of Bradford in the UK, explained the researchers' findings in December.
“Computers can see much deeper than the human eye, down to the microscopic level.”
Machine learning processes typically need to be trained on vast samples, but when it comes to an artist's life's work, that's not always available. In this case, the team modified a pre-trained architecture developed by Microsoft called ResNet50 in combination with a traditional machine learning technique called support vector machines.
This method has previously been shown to have an accuracy level of 98% when it comes to identifying Raphael's paintings. Usually trained on whole pictures, here the team also asked them to look at individual faces.
The Virgin, the Child, and St. John all appear to have been created by Raphael, but this is not the case with St. Joseph. Researchers note that previous debates over the painting's authenticity have considered St. Joseph's face to be less complete than the other faces in the frame.
“When we tested Dela Rosa Overall, the results were inconclusive,” Ugair said.
“So we tested the individual parts and found that while the rest of the photo was confirmed to be Raphael, Joseph's face was most likely not Raphael.”
It is possible that Giulio Romano, one of Raphael's students, was responsible for the fourth face, but this is by no means certain. This is another example of modern technology revealing the secrets of classical painting. This time we're using AI.
of madonna della rosa According to experts, this painting is believed to have been painted on canvas between 1518 and 1520. It was in his mid-1800s that art critics began to suspect that Raphael did not paint all of his works.
Now, those suspicions have almost certainly been proven correct, but the research team behind this study believes that this AI will help art professionals rather than replace them in the future. He wants to emphasize that when it comes to this.
“This is not a story about AI taking people's jobs,” Ugair said. “The process of authenticating a work of art requires examining various aspects such as provenance, pigments, and condition of the work.
“However, this type of software can be used as one tool to aid the process.”
This study heritage science.
A previous version of this article was published in December 2023.
