DID AI GET IT WRONG? EXPERTS QUESTION RAPHAEL’S PAINTING ATTRIBUTION
Painting attribution controversies often leave art lovers scratching their heads, but this latest one has experts divided. Artificial intelligence (AI) was recently used to determine if a disputed work was truly painted by Raphael, but now doubts are emerging about the accuracy of AI’s findings.
The painting in question, known as the de Brécy Tondo, has been the subject of much speculation due to uncertainties about its creation date. Some historians argue that it is a copy made during the Victorian Era, while others believe it dates back to the Renaissance.
To settle the debate, researchers in Nottingham and Bradford employed AI to study the renowned Sistine Madonna. They claimed that the de Brécy Tondo showed a striking 97 percent similarity in the female figure and an 86 percent similarity in the depiction of the babies, leading them to conclude that both works shared the same artist.
The de Brécy Tondo was then exhibited for the first time ever at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford. The exhibition announcement confidently declared that the AI-assisted facial recognition had proven the faces in the paintings to be identical to those in Raphael’s famous altarpiece.
However, the excitement was short-lived as Carina Popovici, a scientist at Art Recognition, disputed the findings. She conducted her own research using algorithms and determined an 85 percent chance that the de Brécy Tondo was not created by Raphael.
Not everyone is convinced that AI can accurately attribute artworks. Timothy Clifford, former director general of the National Galleries of Scotland, expressed skepticism. He believes that AI is “terribly unlikely to be remotely accurate” and considers mechanical means of recognizing paintings by major artists to be “incredibly dangerous.”
As the debate rages on, the Bradford council humorously quipped, “It’s the battle of the AIs, I guess.” With such conflicting opinions, it seems that the question of whether Raphael painted the de Brécy Tondo remains unanswered.
What do you think? Can AI really determine the authenticity of a painting? Leave your comment below and join the discussion!
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