Khaberni - Recent analyses using artificial intelligence have cast doubt on the authenticity of paintings attributed to Flemish painter Jan van Eyck, after tests failed to detect any brush marks from him in two works displayed in museums in the United States and Italy.
According to British newspaper "The Guardian", the two paintings titled "Saint Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata", which are considered among the few remaining works of the artist, underwent scientific tests conducted by the Swiss company Art Recognition in collaboration with Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
The results indicated the impossibility of identifying any distinctive brushstrokes by van Eyck, with the confirmation rate on the authenticity of the painting in Philadelphia being 91% negative, and in Turin 86% negative.
According to Till-Holger Borchert, director of the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum in Aachen, the results support the hypothesis of some researchers that the two paintings might have been produced by the artist's workshop and not directly executed by his hand, adding that it raises new questions that require further research and study.
Dr. Karina Popovic, the CEO of Art Recognition, described the results as "dramatic", noting that a similar analysis of another van Eyck painting, "Arnolfini Portrait" in the National Gallery in London, showed a probability of its authenticity of 89%, making the results for the Philadelphia and Turin paintings exceptional and unexpected.
Art experts added that the condition of the paintings and subsequent restoration works might affect the accuracy of AI analyses, but the results have sparked widespread discussion about van Eyck's direct contribution to the production of these two paintings, and whether the current versions are just works from his workshop.
van Eyck is considered one of the pioneers of oil painting; he did not invent it but perfected it to an extent that made everyone work in the shadow of his accomplishments for centuries, and his paintings are characterized by extreme precision in depicting natural details.
Despite his fame, the number of confirmed works manually attributed to him is less than 20 paintings only.
