AI Helps Restore Rembrandt's Night Watch Masterpiece (bbc.com) 10
For the first time in more than 300 years, Rembrandt's masterpiece The Night Watch can again be seen in its entirety in the Netherlands. The BBC reports: Created in 1642 by the Dutch master, the huge picture was trimmed on all four sides in 1715 to fit between two doors in Amsterdam town hall. The city's Rijksmuseum has now added the missing scenes from a small, early copy of the original. It used artificial intelligence (AI) to mimic Rembrandt's style.
The Night Watch is considered Rembrandt's most ambitious work. It was commissioned by the mayor and leader of the civic guard of Amsterdam, Frans Banninck Cocq, who wanted a group portrait of his militia company. Prior to the restoration the painting was nearly 4m tall and 4.5m wide (12.5 x 15 ft) and weighed 337kg (743lb). As well as being famous for its size, the piece is acclaimed for its use of dramatic lighting and movement. In 1975, a man armed with a bread knife fought off a museum guard and slashed the painting, telling bystanders that he "did it for the Lord." The piece was also attacked with a knife in 1911 and sprayed with a chemical in 1990, but only minor damage occurred on both occasions that was relatively easy to repair.
The Night Watch is considered Rembrandt's most ambitious work. It was commissioned by the mayor and leader of the civic guard of Amsterdam, Frans Banninck Cocq, who wanted a group portrait of his militia company. Prior to the restoration the painting was nearly 4m tall and 4.5m wide (12.5 x 15 ft) and weighed 337kg (743lb). As well as being famous for its size, the piece is acclaimed for its use of dramatic lighting and movement. In 1975, a man armed with a bread knife fought off a museum guard and slashed the painting, telling bystanders that he "did it for the Lord." The piece was also attacked with a knife in 1911 and sprayed with a chemical in 1990, but only minor damage occurred on both occasions that was relatively easy to repair.
How much? (Score:2)
Re:How much? (Score:5, Informative)
This article [theguardian.com] corrects that oversight.
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Look at the picture at the top of the TFA; there is a clear boundary box showing what was 'added'.
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Here's the image from The Guardian article where you can clearly see the painting with 4 borders around it (the top one goes off the picture, so it's even higher):
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media... [guim.co.uk]
Minoan wall paintings (Score:5, Interesting)
Then I visited the museum and discovered that the originals were fragmentary, and had been "restored" by modern artists and the modern-looking flowing lines WERE modern. (the paintings are still great - but a lot of what you see is not original).
Similarly Machu Picchu has been heavily restored, as has the pyramid of the sun, and those Greek temples with columns still standing, the walls of Xian, and on and on - all restored far from their original design. Its usually obvious when you look closely
The concern is that AI restoration may be more difficult to detect by eye, but could be every bit as inaccurate. Maybe it doesn't matter because is is just art - there for people to appreciate it, but I would prefer an AI generated picture of what the Rembrandt may have looked like originally place in a room near the original, but not replacing it.
That said, paintings do decay with time, so maybe there is no real option.
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Many years ago I remember being impressed with how modern Minoan wall paintings looked - the dolphins and bull-leapers had the smooth flowing lines or modern art.
Then I visited the museum and discovered that the originals were fragmentary, and had been "restored" by modern artists and the modern-looking flowing lines WERE modern. (the paintings are still great - but a lot of what you see is not original).
Oh, man, don't remind me. I was always impressed by the Minoan palace of Knossos, especially the colours etc, then went to visit. And found out that an English man, Sir Arthur Evans, back in the 1920s, basically decided by himself how the palace would have looked, and started painting and "restoring". You can tell it has a 1920's art deco vibe, because it was imagined by that guy back then. Visiting the place was so underwhelming when I could see the upright colourful walls were concrete etc :(
My favourite
Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam (Score:1)
I'm just surprised that they didn't airbrush out their guns.
Trimmed in 1715 (Score:2)
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Who knew artists have to be dead before they can make a living wage?