It is a famous painting. The author is one of the masters of the Renaissance. However, he would not be the only one who participated in its creation. A work by Raphael questioned by the AI features a face believed to have been painted by someone else.
AI analysis revealed it. Experts from the Universities of Nottingham, Bradford and Stanford analyzed the traits by algorithm. The painting is the Madonna della Rosa (Madonna of the Rose). While most of the painting is in fact by Raphael, Joseph’s face is probably not the work of the same hand.
Algorithm
The Madonna della Rosa is exhibited in the Prado Museum in Madrid. It intrigues art experts. Some, including Professor Jurg Meyer zur Capellen, suggested that a disciple of Raphael, Giulio Romano, may have contributed. One theory is that the rose and bottom may have been painted by someone else. But the new analysis reveals that the lower part of the painting “most likely” is by Raphael.
Professor Hassan Ugail devised the algorithm that recognizes authentic works by Raphael, with 98% accuracy. He explains in a statement: “When you present an image to the computer, it will give you a binary classification of whether it is an authentic Raphael or not. It does this with 98% accuracy. “We can now say with great confidence whether a painting is an authentic Raphael or not.”
«When we tested the Della Rosa as a whole, the results were inconclusive. So, we tested the individual parts. The rest of the image was confirmed to be Rafael’s. But the most likely thing is that José’s face was not Rafael’s.
Adaptable to other works
«This analysis of the artworks of the artist Raphael presents an objective and quantifiable approach. Uses machine learning for painted image classification. It promises to be a useful and additional tool in future research of this nature. “It is adaptable because works by other artists can be examined using the same technique,” the researchers said.
Now it is a work by Rafael questioned by the AI that puts experts on alert. Moving forward, what other surprises will these analyzes have in store for us?
