A renowned painting by Raphael, the Madonna della Rosa (Madonna of the Rose), has been scrutinized by AI, revealing that the Italian Renaissance painter may not have created the face of Joseph in the artwork.
Who knew that modern technology could dive deep into a classic painting and unveil shocking revelations? AI is now being integrated into various fields, including art.
AI Analyzes Painting of Raphael
Researchers from the Universities of Nottingham, Bradford, and Stanford have used AI-powered deep feature analysis to examine the painting, and they have found that while most of the painting is indeed by Raphael, the face of Joseph appears to have been crafted by a different hand.
The Madonna della Rosa has long intrigued art experts, with theories suggesting the involvement of Raphael's pupil Giulio Romano in its creation. The new AI analysis of the research team led by Professor Hassan Ugail from the University of Bradford used an algorithm that can recognize authentic works by Raphael with 98% accuracy.
In explaining the algorithm's capabilities, Ugail noted that when an image is presented to the computer, it can provide a binary classification of whether it's an authentic Raphael or not, with a 98% accuracy rate.
The AI analysis revealed that while the rest of the painting was confirmed as Raphael's work, Joseph's face was identified as "most likely not Raphael."
The research provides an objective and quantifiable approach to analyzing painted imagery using machine learning. The study represents a significant step in art authentication, offering a tool that complements traditional methods such as spectroscopy.
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History of the Madonna della Rosa
Howell Edwards, Emeritus Professor of Molecular Spectroscopy at the University of Bradford, has provided insights into the history of the Madonna della Rosa.
Edwards said the artwork, painted on canvas around 1517/18, was initially regarded by early connoisseurs as a Raphael autograph, which means he painted 100% of it. However, later art historians questioned its composition.
He noted that the AI analysis demonstrated conclusively that while the figures of the Madonna, Christ Child, and St. John the Baptist were unequivocally painted by Raphael, St. Joseph was not and likely crafted by another artist, possibly Giulio Romano or his other student Gianfrancesco Penni.
The research team had previously applied AI-assisted facial recognition to the de Brécy Tondo, a mystery painting resembling Raphael's Sistine Madonna. In this case, the computer identified it as a work by Raphael, aligning with previous pigment analysis by Edwards.
Ugail emphasized that AI analysis is a complementary tool in the art authentication process, offering a detailed examination of an artist's style, including brushstrokes, color palette, and shading.
"This is not a case of AI taking people's jobs. The process of authenticating a work of art involves looking at many aspects, from its provenance, pigments, condition of the work and so on. However, this sort of software can be used as one tool to assist in the process," Ugali said in a statement.
The research, titled "Deep Transfer Learning for Visual Analysis and Attribution of Paintings by Raphael," was published in the Heritage Science journal.
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