A team of scientists from Case Western Reserve University has developed a new AI model named PATCH that analyzes tiny sections of paintings to identify the number of artists involved in their creation. The model was applied to two works by El Greco, suggesting that 'The Baptism of Christ,' long thought to be a collaborative workshop piece, may have been painted primarily by the master himself.
A Swiss artificial intelligence firm, Art Recognition, has claimed with high certainty that two versions of the painting 'Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata' (ca. 1428-32), held by the Royal Museums of Turin and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, are not by the hand of Northern Renaissance master Jan van Eyck. The company's CEO, Carina Popovici, stated the A.I. model determined the works were not authentic with 91% and 86% certainty, respectively, though the museums involved have not officially commented.
The Städel Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, is undertaking a major conservation treatment of Rembrandt van Rijn's monumental painting *The Blinding of Samson* (1636). The project, expected to last three to four years, will address signs of aging and previous restorations, remove non-original paint, and create a historically accurate frame. The conservation follows a 2021 research seminar and technical studies published in the journal *ArtMatters*, which revealed previously unknown underdrawing techniques and adjustments to the artist's color palette and composition.
A new catalogue raisonné by scholar Christof Metzger argues that a painting in London's National Gallery, long considered a copy, is an authentic work by Albrecht Dürer. Metzger, a curator at Vienna's Albertina Museum, contends that the 1497 portrait of Dürer's father shows masterful technique that distinguishes it from known copies.
A new study published in *Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts* by French researcher Temenuzhka Dimova uses eye-tracking technology to examine how pointing fingers in Old Master paintings affect viewer attention. Conducted through the University of Vienna’s Laboratory for Cognitive Research in Art History (CReA), the study compared participants' eye movements when viewing original paintings—such as Theodor Rombouts's *The Card Players*—and digitally altered versions where the pointing gestures were removed. Results showed that viewers focused more on the faces of pointing figures and the narrative context, not just the target of the gesture, and that removing the finger fundamentally changed how the story was perceived.
A painting in a private UK collection, long considered a workshop copy of Rembrandt's 'Old Man with a Gold Chain' at the Art Institute of Chicago, has been newly attributed to Rembrandt himself by scholar Gary Schwartz. Schwartz argues the quality and lack of corrections suggest Rembrandt, not a pupil, created the canvas replica while the original process was still fresh.
Berlin's Gemäldegalerie is digitally reconstructing hundreds of Old Master paintings by artists like Rubens, Veronese, van Dyck, and Caravaggio that were destroyed in fires near the end of World War II. The project uses high-resolution scans of glass negatives, primarily photographed by Gustav Schwarz between 1925 and 1944, to create detailed online renderings that will be publicly accessible for viewing and download later this year.
The Gemäldegalerie in Berlin has completed the digitization of its high-resolution glass-negative archive, which documents hundreds of Old Master paintings destroyed in a fire at the end of the Second World War. The collection includes lost works by Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Paolo Veronese, which were stored in a flak tower for protection and burned in May 1945.
On March 17, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially dedicated the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The museum was established through the massive bequest of industrialist Andrew Mellon, who donated his world-class art collection, the funds for the building's construction, and a significant endowment. The opening marked a milestone in American cultural history, providing the public with access to a premier national collection of Old Master paintings.
Un Caravage pour Rome
The Italian Ministry of Culture has acquired Caravaggio's 'Portrait of Maffeo Barberini' for the state. The painting, which had been on loan to the Palazzo Barberini from its private owner, will now be permanently deposited at the museum.
Verdun s'enrichit d'une œuvre d'un enfant du pays
The Musée de la Princerie in Verdun has acquired a painting by Joseph Christophe, a rare artist originally from the city. The work was purchased from the Versailles-based Galerie Barnabé, which specializes in Old Master paintings.