The Washington PostThe Washington Post

AI identified a Renaissance masterpiece. Art historians are skeptical

By Shera Avi-Yonah

28 Jul 2023 · 3 min read

informed Summary

  1. A gallery in the English city of Bradford is displaying a painting identified by artificial intelligence as a work by Renaissance master Raphael.

Exhibiting a painting by the Renaissance master Raphael has generally been reserved for the world's most famous art venues, such as the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Vatican Museums.

But this week, a gallery in the northern English city of Bradford put on display what it says artificial intelligence has identified as a work by the Italian Renaissance painter often mentioned alongside Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Researchers hope their experimental use of AI will put to rest a decades-long debate about the origins of the painting, known as the de Brécy Tondo, allowing it acceptance alongside Raphael works hanging in cities better known for their art halls.

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