Software can now give you a new Rembrandt, one you have never seen before. In truth, it is not an “original,” but it eerily looks like one. An initiative conceived by an advertising executive was at first met with disbelief. But Bas Korsten pulled it off. If you look at Man in the Black Hat, apparently you would not be able to make out the difference. Don’t worry: neither would experts. The project involved data scientists, developers, engineers and art historians from organizations including Microsoft, Delft University of Technology, the Mauritshuis in The Hague and the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam. The final 3D printed painting consists of more than 148 million pixels and is based on 168,263 Rembrandt painting fragments. We kept consoling ourselves thinking that they would never have that originality inherent to every man and every creator. Are we giving that up, too?
