According to an AI, El Greco would actually be the sole author of the 'Baptism of Christ' in Toledo, long considered a workshop work

A new study published in Science Advances uses an AI tool called Patch to analyze the monumental painting "Le Baptême du Christ" (1608–1614) by El Greco, long believed to be a workshop piece completed by his son Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli. By mapping the 3D microtopography of the brushstrokes and comparing them with El Greco's authenticated "Christ on the Cross" at the Cleveland Museum of Art, the AI found consistent painterly gestures across the entire work, suggesting the master himself painted it despite tremors from neurological disorders in his old age.

This matters because it challenges a long-standing art-historical consensus and could elevate the painting's status from a marginal workshop production to a major autograph work—El Greco's final, poignant farewell. While the AI is not infallible and restorations or imitators could skew results, the study demonstrates how machine learning is increasingly reshaping attribution debates, offering new tools to reassess centuries-old masterpieces and potentially altering museum collections and market values.