Hidden Picasso Nude Revealed Using Artificial Intelligence

Released 12:02 PM EDT October 11, 2021 by CNN Cable News

Pablo Picasso - A Crouching Woman (click photo for larger image)A nude portrait of a crouching woman, hidden beneath the surface of a Pablo Picasso painting, has been revealed using artificial intelligence, advanced imaging technology and 3D printing.

Dubbed "The Lonesome Crouching Nude," the recreation is the work of Oxia Palus, a company that uses technology to resurrect lost art, according to a statement sent to CNN on Monday.

Picasso painted over the figure when making "The Blind Man's Meal" in 1903. The nude had been partially revealed by a superimposed X-ray fluorescence (XRF) image, but Oxia Palus has now "brought the hidden work to life back to life," according to the statement.

In order to do so, the company used XRF imaging and image processing to reveal the outline of the hidden painting, and then trained artificial intelligence to add brushstrokes to the portrait in the style of Picasso. It then generated a height map of the portrait to give it texture, and printed the image onto canvas using 3D printing technology.

Oxia Palus was co-founded by George Cann and Anthony Bourached, a pair of PhD candidates in machine learning at University College London (UCL). Art is a store of complex information, and machine learning has developed to the point that it can help us analyze that information, Bourached told CNN. "We've got complex systems now that can help us understand our history and culture better," he said. “While X-ray images are useful in revealing images that were painted over, the AI adds another layer to our analysis”, Bourached added.

The nude dates from Picasso's Blue Period, early in his career, and the artist wouldn't have wanted to paint over the figure, according to Cann. "At the time that Picasso painted The Lonesome Crouching Nude and The Blind Man's Meal he was poor and artist materials were expensive, so he likely painted over the former work with reluctance," Cann said in the statement.

The figure of the woman also appears in Picasso's painting "La Vie" and a number of his sketches, which suggests the artist may have had an affinity for her, he added.

"I hope that Picasso would be happy in knowing the treasure he's hidden for future generations is finally being revealed, 48 years after his death and 118 years after the painting was concealed," Cann said in the statement.

Ty Murphy, a Picasso specialist at London-based due-diligence firm Domos Art Advisors, said the AI-produced painting looks like a Picasso Blue Period, but under close scrutiny an expert would probably be able to recognize that it wasn't an original. However, continued developments in machine learning and 3D printing should make for even more accurate work in the future, he added. "Give it time," said Murphy: "As soon as those technologies emerge they're going to be very convincing."

While some in the art world have criticized the approach, Murphy has no issue with using machine learning to produce new works. "History has shown us that people will always emulate the work of other artists," he said, adding: "It's an exploration of Picasso's mind."

David Dibosa, who leads the Masters course in Curating and Collections at Chelsea College of Arts in London, said anyone who enjoyed Picasso's work would be excited by the emergence of the image, and hailed the combination of technology at work in the piece. However, he questioned whether there was any need to print the portrait on canvas, asking whether it would have been more accessible if it were a digital piece. "There are many people who would never be able to see a limited edition artwork, even if it were shown in a museum nearby," said Dibosa. "By highlighting The Lonesome Crouching Nude as a digital discovery made for an online world," he said, "we could bring Picasso front and center to meet the new realities of the 21st century."

The artwork will be on display at the Deeep AI Art Fair in London from Wednesday to Sunday. 

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Jenny Saville Painting Sells for $12.4 M. at Sotheby’s London, Record for Living Female Artist

Photo from an Interview with Jenny Saville“On Friday night, in a salesroom at Sotheby’s London, Jenny Saville’s masterful seated nude self-portrait Propped (1992), which features the artist gazing down at the viewer, with a long quotation from a feminist French critic scribbled across the canvas, made a record-shattering £9.5 million ($12.4 million) against an estimate of £3 million to £4 million.

That figure is not only the new high mark for a Saville at auction, it is also the most ever paid at auction for the work of a living female artist.” (Reprinted from article by Judd Tully on Art News)

Jenny Saville (born 7 May 1970) is a contemporary British painter associated with the Young British Artists, a group of concept driven artists. Saville is often credited with “reinventing figure painting for contemporary art, as well as originating a new and challenging way of painting the female nude…”. From the start of her career, Saville has engaged in an exploration of the body that borrows conventions from a long tradition in figure painting.

“Repairing a $12 Million Monet After It Has Been Punched”

Claude Monet - ‘Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat’ - 1874 - oil on canvas - damaged (click photo for larger image)Claude Monet - ‘Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sailboat’ - 1874 - oil on canvas - repaired (click photo for larger image)“On 29 June 2012, Andrew Shannon entered the National Gallery of Ireland and punched a hole through a Monet painting from 1874, valued at nearly $12 million. While Shannon was recently sentenced to 5 years in prison, the painstaking process of restoring the prized artwork took an arduous 18 months to complete.”

Read this fascinating article to find out just how much time, expertise, and expense goes into repair and restoration work.

“Exceptional discovery of Rare Michelangelo Bronzes"

‘Bacchants Riding on Panthers', c.1506-08, Italy Bronze (on show at the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge to August 2015) Photo: The Fitzwilliam Museum Italian Renaissance (click photo for larger image)

“Two statues may be the only surviving bronze sculptures by Michelangelo, say experts at the Fitzwilliam Museum”

Read about it HERE...

“La Bella Principessa” (“The Beautiful Princess): A Leonardo Controversy Solved

Leonardo da Vinci - La Bella Principessa” - (1480 - 1490) - 3 mines technique on vellum, Black Chalk, Red Chalk,Chalk white. Dim: 23,87 X 33,27 cm - 9,39 x 13,09 inches. Strengthened with oak panel backing. (click photo for larger image)In 2009, a lawsuit against Christie’s in New York was filed, by one Jeanne Marchig, when a drawing that the auction house sold for her (in 1998) turned out to be a work by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Marchig (who runs a U.K. animal welfare foundation) was "devastated" when she learned that the drawing, which sold as a nineteenth century German work, turned out to be a depiction of Bianca Sforza, daughter of the Duke of Milan, created by the great master himself. The origin of the “La Bella Principessa” has been formally identified in its provenance, thus confirming its authenticity.

The attribution to Leonardo  da Vinci is based on  the multispectral scanning of the Research Laboratory Lumiere-Technology. It was confirmed in 2009 by six art historians, Nicholas Turner, Carlo Pedretti, Alessandro Vezzosi, Mina Gregori, Cristina Geddo and Martin Kemp (who has written a book on this whole matter). Christie’s sold the work for £11,400 (a little over $19,500 today). Its value exceeds £100m ($150 million).

Marchig sued Christie's for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of warranty, negligence and negligent misrepresentation. But the lawsuit was dismissed because the statute of limitations requires that no more than three years lapse from the time the alleged infraction occurs. Marchig's attorney's argued that the statute of limitations should apply to the date when they learned the true authorship and value of the work. But the judge disagreed and ruled in Christie's favor. Ouch!

There is still much debate today over whether or not the attribution to Leonardo is correct—but as of now it definitely stands. There are some claims that the forensics even revealed Leonardo’s fingerprint on the drawing! But other art historians still argue that this could be a copy of a Leonardo work. One thing, however, is clear. The drawing definitely is of Leonardo’s era—and not from the nineteenth century. Christie’s should have know that. The problem is that thousands and thousands of paintings go through auction houses every year—and they simply don’t have the time or resources to perform “due diligence.” But…in this case…Christie’s was not held accountable for its failure to do so.