Artificial intelligence has determined that the face in Raphael's painting was not painted by the master himself

By: Bohdan Kaminskyi | 22.12.2023, 19:16

An international group of scientists with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms analysed the famous painting by Raphael "Madonna della Rosa" and found out that the face of Joseph on the canvas probably does not belong to the brush of the great artist of the Renaissance.

Here's What We Know

Previously, some experts have suggested that in addition to Raphael, his pupil Giulio Romano could have participated in the work on the painting. The main doubt caused the lower part of the canvas with the image of a rose.

Researchers have developed an algorithm that with 98% accuracy determines the authentic works of Raphael. The computer analyses the features of strokes, colour palette, shadows and other characteristics of the painting style.

Applying it to "Madonna della Rosa", a discrepancy was found - the face of St Joseph does not correspond to the "handwriting" of the artist. However, the algorithm considered that the lower part of the painting was painted by Raphael.


Raphael's famous painting "Madonna della Rosa", created in 1518

According to the authors of the study, their methodology is a useful tool for attributing works of art. It is important to combine it with traditional analyses of paint composition, the history of ownership of the painting and other aspects.

Source: TechXplore