Raphael had a helping hand! Oil painting of Madonna features a face that the Renaissance artist did NOT paint himself, AI analysis reveals
- Part of the painting was later added by a pupil of Raphael's, experts believe
- READ MORE: Did artificial intelligence just discover a new Raphael painting?
With its delicate brushwork and subtle depiction of light, there's no doubt 'Madonna of the Rose' is a work of genius.
Created by Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, the painting depicts the baby Jesus Christ with his parents Mary and Joseph, plus John the Baptist.
But the acclaimed 16th century work – which currently hangs in the Museo del Prado in Madrid – features a face that its artist did not paint.
That's according to artificial intelligence (AI), which has been used by British scientists to scan the work's brush strokes on the minutest level.
While most of the painting was done by Raphael, the AI has determined that Joseph's face in the top-left corner was added by another painter, likely a pupil of his.
![Made sometime between 1518 and 1520, Madonna de la Rosa depicts Mary carrying an infant Jesus, Joseph on the left, a young John the Baptist, as well as a rose on the table from which the artwork got its title](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/21/10/79208265-12888937-image-a-16_1703154045331.jpg)
Made sometime between 1518 and 1520, Madonna de la Rosa depicts Mary carrying an infant Jesus, Joseph on the left, a young John the Baptist, as well as a rose on the table from which the artwork got its title
The AI is the creation of Professor Hassan Ugail, director of the Centre for Visual Computing and Intelligent Systems at the University of Bradford.
To create the AI, Professor Ugail devised an algorithm which recognises authentic works by Raphael with 98 per cent accuracy, he claims.
'We used pictures of authenticated Raphael paintings to train the computer to recognise his style to a very detailed degree, from the brushstrokes, the colour palette, the shading and every aspect of the work,' he said.
'The computer sees far more deeply than the human eye, to microscopic level.
Made sometime between 1518 and 1520, Madonna of the Rose is believed to be one of the many Madonnas made by the Italian artist.
It depicts Mary carrying an infant Jesus, Joseph top left, a young John the Baptist, and a rose on the table from which the artwork got its title.
Art connoisseurs have already long pointed out that Joseph looks out of place in the scene, as if added later as an afterthought.
He doesn't even seem to be acknowledged by the other people in the painting, suggesting he wasn't a part of the artist's initial conception.
![Professor Hassan Ugail of the University of Bradford devised an algorithm which recognises authentic works by Raphael, with 98 per cent accuracy. He's pictured here with another painting, the de Brécy Tondo, likely to be Raphael masterpiece](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/21/10/79205867-12888937-Professor_Hassan_Ugail_of_the_University_of_Bradford_University_-a-17_1703154328643.jpg)
Professor Hassan Ugail of the University of Bradford devised an algorithm which recognises authentic works by Raphael, with 98 per cent accuracy. He's pictured here with another painting, the de Brécy Tondo, likely to be Raphael masterpiece
Initially, Professor Ugail tested the AI with the painting as a whole, but when the results were inconclusive, he gave it individual parts of the painting to assess.
'When you present an image to the computer, it will give a binary classification of whether it's an authentic Raphael or not,' he said.
'We tested the individual parts and while the rest of the picture was confirmed as Raphael, Joseph's face came up as most likely not Raphael.'
Historically, Madonna della Rosa was regarded by early art connoisseurs as a Raphael autograph, meaning he painted all of it.
However, during the 19th century, art historians such as Johann David Passavant began to question whether others were also involved.
They started to attribute it partially to Raphael and partially to his workshop – namely, pupils who worked there.
Potential workshop pupils who had a hand in the painting of Joseph could be Giulio Romano and Gianfrancesco Penni, both widely regarded in their own right today.
![Initially, Professor Ugail tested the AI with the painting as a whole, but when the results were inconclusive they gave it individual parts of the painting to assess](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/21/12/79210577-12888937-image-a-40_1703160694893.jpg)
Initially, Professor Ugail tested the AI with the painting as a whole, but when the results were inconclusive they gave it individual parts of the painting to assess
![Unlike other parts of the painting, the AI deemed the face of Joseph to be not by Raphael](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/12/21/12/79210635-12888937-image-a-39_1703160686699.jpg)
Unlike other parts of the painting, the AI deemed the face of Joseph to be not by Raphael
The team stress that only the face of Joseph was not done by Raphael, so the AI is not contesting the authorship of the rest of the painting.
And while some believe the rose and the lower portion of the painting may have been created by another artist, the results suggest this is not true.
Professor Ugail's analysis reveals the lower part of the painting is 'most likely' by Raphael, unlike Joseph in the top-left, the AI found.
Although it is able to accurately identity a Raphael painting, the researchers say their AI system cannot be used as a sole authentication tool.
'The current study's results should not be taken as sufficient for an authentication decision, but a step toward improving overall authentication protocols,' said study author David G Stork at Stanford University.
The findings have been published in the journal Heritage Science.