Ok, so normally I am not a fan of a digital reproduction of a master’s art. There has been interest in computerised software that paints in the style of an old master painter, with the aim of not being able to distinguish between the real paintings and their digital ‘siblings’.
There are many reasons this does not gel with me. Firstly, a computer ‘painting’ like a master painter in my mind reduces the painter’s worth. Will the market be flooded with ‘new’ Rembrandt, Monet, and Velázquez works? If a computer can create a masterpiece, does that suddenly make us all experts, devaluing years of hard work, risks and sacrifice it takes to become a master painter? Will it produce yet again internet experts, and will this devaluation of hard work reduce the quality of what we see on regular basis and bring the standards down yet again, yet in another industry?
These questions have always made me feel uneasy about computerising skills that are inherently artistic, and that require a human soul to communicate an emotional experience with a viewer and remaining relevant for centuries – precisely because it is human! But a recent story (Operation Nightwatch) seen on the Rijksmuseum website had changed my mind about computerising art of the Old Masters.
The Night Watch is perhaps the most famous of Rembrandt’s paintings, and certainly the crown jewel of the Rijksmuseum. The painting has been undergoing a public conservation for a while now. That means conservators are working in plain sight, in front of the public, which allows the public to observe the process, essentially being a part of it, and which does not require the famous artwork to be missing from display for extended periods of time. Brilliant!
But not as brilliant as restoring its missing pieces.
In the 18th century the painting was cut (yes, that’s right!) to fit onto a particular wall in the Amsterdam Town hall. The canvas pieces are now lost, but there exists a Copy of The Nightwatch attributed to Gerrit Lundens (c.1642-1655). It is this copy that the Rijksmuseum scientists have use to reconstruct the four missing edges of the iconic Rembrandt.
Using digital software that learns to approximate a painter’s style, they have fed pieces of the Lundens’s painting to get a ‘how-Rembrandt-would-have-painted-this’ versions of each piece. The result is a mind-blowing reconstruction, made possible through this computerised image.
What I love about this is the digital aid is used to assist in appreciation of Rembrandt’s artwork, not replace it. It restores the historical and artistic value of the work, enhancing our experience of this amazing painting. Basically, it is always about the real artist, Rembrandt the man, and preserving the humanity of his work.
You can see the video of the reconstruction and the final result on the Rijksmuseum website.