The rise of artificial intelligence has opened a new frontier in identifying whether a work of art is priceless or a forgery, but the results have been met with skepticism among experts.
Swiss-based AI company Art Recognition has completed more than 500 authenticity assessments, including the high-profile verification of an 1889 self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh, the Financial times reported.
Founded just five years ago, Art Recognition uses an AI system that provides an accurate and objective authenticity evaluation of a work of art.
Last year the company became embroiled in a row over a painting known as the de Brécy Tondo, which has been at the center of a heated debate for more than three decades.
Art Recognition’s AI concluded that it was 85 percent likely that the painting was not an authentic work by Renaissance master Raphael, as some experts had previously argued.
Is this painting by the Renaissance master Raphael? The de Brécy Tondo has been at the center of a heated dispute for over 30 years – AI has produced mixed results on its authenticity and relationship to Raphael’s Sistine Madonna
Raphael’s The Sistine Madonna (ca 1512). The faces in the painting are very similar to those in the de Brécy Tondo, but neither AI nor researchers can agree on whether that artwork is also by Raphael.
The conclusion came despite the fact that two British universities, Bradford and Nottingham, used their own AI software to determine whether it was authentic.
The universities had deployed AI facial recognition software that concluded that the faces in the work were identical to those in another Raphael painting, the Sistine Madonna, suggesting it must be a Raphael.
The divergent results of two AI programs have caused consternation in the art world, where authenticating a master’s work can increase its valuation by millions of dollars.
Believed to be by a painter with ties to Rembrandt, ‘The Adoration of the Magi’ was offered at auction in 2021 with an estimate of €10,500-€16,000 ($13,500-$21,000 USD).
When it was later confirmed to be by Rembrandt himself, it sold for £10.9 million ($14 million USD) at Sotheby’s in December.
Art Recognition uses AI that is excellent at “pattern recognition,” according to Jo Lawson-Tancred, author of the forthcoming AI and the Art Market.
The models are able to recognize distinctive features used by a particular artist, if given enough previously verified examples to ‘learn’ from.
However, it is still not developed enough to always understand context, so human judgment is still essential for authentication, Lawson-Tancred added.
‘The Adoration of the Magi’ was confirmed as an authentic Rembrandt, with the valuation moved from €10,500 to €16,000 for a final sale of £10.9 million in December
Prof. Hassan Ugail, director of Bradford’s Center for Visual Computing (pictured) says AI is unlikely to replace human jobs in the art world but could be a tool used in authentication
Jo Lawson-Tancred (pictured), author of AI and the Art Market, says Art Recognition’s AI is AI that is excellent at ‘pattern recognition’ of distinguishing features used by a particular artist
Art historian Bendor Grosvenor (right) believes AI is not yet sufficient to determine the authenticity of master paintings
Carlo Milano (pictured) of Callisto Fine Arts in London admits AI can help reduce the margin of error in identifying authentic masterpieces
Other experts are more skeptical. “I think a lot depends on the data that is fed into the AI system,” Carlo Milano of Callisto Fine Arts told the FT.
‘For example, if a questionable catalog raisonné is used to enter data about an artist, the conclusions may be questionable.’
Milano admits that AI can help reduce the margin of error in identifying authentic masterpieces, but that it will never fully replace the hands-on human experience.
Some restorers are skeptical about whether AI can take into account factors such as a dirty varnish layer, wear or damage.
Prof. Hassan Ugail, director of Bradford’s Center for Visual Computing, says AI is unlikely to replace human jobs in the art world but could be a useful tool for authentication.
“Like spectroscopy and dating techniques, AI can be an important tool in the main toolbox,” he says.
“The biggest drawback at the moment is the quality of input given to the AI attribution programs currently in use,” art historian Bendor Grosvenor told the FT.
‘It is simply not possible to determine whether a painting is by Rubens by relying solely on poor-quality images of little more than half of his oeuvre.
“No human connoisseur could trust this, and neither could a computer,” he concluded.