{ "id": "AIBD-0276", "title": "Bradford facial-recognition AI may have identified the de Brecy Tondo as a Raphael; the painting goes on show", "summary": "Ugail's deep-learning comparison found 97% facial similarity with the Sistine Madonna; Cartwright Hall showed the Tondo July 2023-Jan 2024; Raphael scholars call it a copy; Art Recognition says not.", "date_observed": "2023-07-25", "date_basis": "unassessed", "date_precision": "unassessed", "benefit_status": null, "source_collection": null, "source_entry": null, "account": "Hassan Ugail (University of Bradford) led a facial-recognition deep-learning comparison with University of Nottingham colleagues. It was reported on 26 January 2023 (Artforum). It found 97% similarity between the Madonna of the de Brecy Tondo and Raphael's Sistine Madonna, and 86% for the child. Ugail said the two “are undoubtedly by the same artist” (BBC, 25 July 2023). The painting, owned by the de Brecy Trust, went on public display at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, from July 2023. The display was extended “due to popular demand” to 3 January 2024, per Bradford Museums' own page. That page calls it “a mystery painting found to be undoubtedly by Raphael”. The Art Newspaper (26 July 2023) quoted Raphael scholars rejecting the attribution. An anonymous specialist said “The picture is clearly a copy from the 19th century”. Angelamaria Aceto (Ashmolean) would not support an AI-based assessment. Artnet (18 September 2023) reported that Art Recognition's model found with 85% probability that the Tondo was not painted by Raphael. The same company had earlier asserted with 92% certainty that the National Gallery's Samson and Delilah might not be by Rubens. No source on record shows a museum or auction house accepting an AI attribution. The AI finding was reported on 26 January 2023.", "category": "benefit created", "unexpected": false, "purpose": "Test whether facial features in a disputed painting match those in an authenticated Raphael", "system": "University of Bradford facial-recognition deep-learning comparison (Hassan Ugail); contrasted with Art Recognition's authentication model", "model_version": null, "developer": "University of Bradford and University of Nottingham team (Ugail); Art Recognition AG (Carina Popovici)", "deployer": "de Brecy Trust; Bradford Museums & Galleries (Cartwright Hall Art Gallery)", "location": "Bradford, England, UK", "domain": "Cultural heritage; art attribution", "segment": "Museum visitors and the painting's owners", "benefit_type": "Improved Knowledge Discovery", "taxonomy_note": "The Raphael attribution is rejected by named scholars and a second AI system, so the only realized outcome is a public exhibition.", "registry_ids": {}, "ratings": [ { "group": "personal", "depth": null, "reason": "No individual beneficiary." }, { "group": "organizational", "depth": 1, "reason": "Bradford Museums exhibited the painting as a possible Raphael and extended the display “due to popular demand”." }, { "group": "societal", "depth": null, "reason": "The attribution is not accepted by scholars or institutions." } ], "ai_role": { "status": "unassessed", "statement": "Bradford's model produced the similarity figures that underpinned the “undoubtedly Raphael” claim and the exhibition. Raphael scholars reject the attribution. Art Recognition's model gives 85% probability against Raphael. The evidence is press reporting and the deployer's own page. No peer-reviewed report of the Tondo analysis and no institutional acceptance was found." }, "evidence": [ { "kind": "news report", "citation": "BBC News, 25 Jul 2023", "title": "Lost Raphael masterpiece goes on show in Bradford in UK first", "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-66291225", "date": "2023-07-25", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "the Tondo and the Sistine Madonna are undoubtedly by the same artist" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "The Art Newspaper, 26 Jul 2023", "title": "'Clearly a copy from the 19th century'-Old Masters scholars reject AI-attributed Raphael", "url": "https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/07/26/clearly-a-copy-from-the-19th-centuryold-masters-scholars-reject-ai-attributed-raphael", "date": "2023-07-26", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "The picture is clearly a copy from the 19th century." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Artnet News, 18 Sep 2023", "title": "Two A.I. Models Set Out to Authenticate a Raphael Painting and Got Different Results, Casting Doubt on the Technology's Future", "url": "https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ai-art-authentication-will-not-replace-humans-2340290", "date": "2023-09-18", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "found with 85 percent probability that the de Brecy Tondo was not painted by Raphael." }, { "kind": "press release", "citation": "Bradford Museums & Galleries event page", "title": "The de Brecy Tondo", "url": "https://www.bradfordmuseums.org/whats-on/the-de-brecy-tondo", "date": null, "written_by": "deployer", "quote": "a mystery painting found to be 'undoubtedly' by Raphael." }, { "kind": "other", "citation": "Art Recognition AG (n.d.). Raphael and the de Brécy Tondo Madonna: When One AI Gets Ahead of the Evidence. Case study.", "title": "Raphael and the de Brécy Tondo Madonna: When One AI Gets Ahead of the Evidence", "url": "https://art-recognition.com/case-studies/raphael-the-brecy-tondo/", "date": null, "written_by": "makers", "quote": null } ], "replication": { "produced_by": [ "Deep-learning facial-feature comparison between the Tondo and the Sistine Madonna", "Public exhibition by a municipal gallery" ], "must_hold": [ "Scholarly acceptance of AI attribution (absent)", "Agreement between independent AI authentication models (absent)" ], "echoes": [ { "date": "2023-09-18", "setting": "Art Recognition model applied to the same painting", "model_version": null, "outcome": "did not recur", "source": "https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ai-art-authentication-will-not-replace-humans-2340290" }, { "date": null, "setting": "Art Recognition claim that the National Gallery's Samson and Delilah might not be by Rubens; no institutional acceptance located", "model_version": null, "outcome": "did not recur", "source": "https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ai-art-authentication-will-not-replace-humans-2340290" } ] }, "paired_incident": null, "headline": "Bradford AI may have identified the de Brecy Tondo as a Raphael", "metric": "97% facial similarity with the Sistine Madonna", "comparator": null, "later": { "status": "reversed", "date": "2023-09-18", "note": "Raphael scholars quoted by The Art Newspaper the day after the display opened called the painting a 19th-century copy, and in September 2023 (reported by Artnet on 18 September) the rival authentication firm Art Recognition said its model classified the Tondo as not by Raphael with 85 percent probability; no museum or auction house accepted the attribution.", "quote": "Our model classified the painting as not autograph by Raphael, with an 85 percent probability.", "url": "https://art-recognition.com/case-studies/raphael-the-brecy-tondo/" }, "value": null, "developer_country": "United Kingdom", "deployer_country": "United Kingdom", "unrated_because": null, "brief_notes": null, "brief": null, "revisions": [ { "date": "2026-10-20", "change": "Record drafted from the cited sources.", "source": null, "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Headline reworded to state the event without naming who claims it.", "source": null, "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Title reworded to state the event without naming who claims it.", "source": null, "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Added what happened since from the cited sources.", "source": "https://art-recognition.com/case-studies/raphael-the-brecy-tondo/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Country of the developer and the deployer added from the organization's own site or a registry.", "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Bradford; https://www.debrecy.org.uk/community/press_photo_download", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Prose pass: a rating reason, account, the system's part rewritten in shorter sentences with abbreviations expanded; facts, figures and quotations unchanged.", "source": null, "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Notes about which sources could be read were reworded for readers; facts, figures and quotations unchanged.", "source": null, "editor": "AIBD" } ], "confidence": "reported", "shade": "medium", "claim_status": "Independently reported", "claim_basis": "Sources: three independent news reports, the makers' other and the deployer's press release. The cited evidence includes no independent study or report and no finding by a regulator or court.", "profile": { "case_id": "AIBD-0276", "catalog_version": "1.0.0", "source_fingerprint": "1fd297a79151c946bf8dcc227acc54176b4aed494ecd8eb5d22804920cc3ae53", "collection_refs": [ { "collection_id": "aibd", "version": "snapshot-8bf7cfec9cb185aa" }, { "collection_id": "aibd", "version": "2026-10-25" }, { "collection_id": "querist", "version": "2026-10-25" } ], "source_ids": [ "AIBD-0276-source-0001", "AIBD-0276-source-0002", "AIBD-0276-source-0003", "AIBD-0276-source-0004", "AIBD-0276-source-0005" ], "families": { "strategic assessments": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] }, "evaluations": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] }, "monetary observations": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] }, "institutional decisions": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] } }, "fields": { "actors[]": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "developer": "University of Bradford and University of Nottingham team (Ugail); Art Recognition AG (Carina Popovici)", "deployer": "de Brecy Trust; Bradford Museums & Galleries (Cartwright Hall Art Gallery)" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "developer", "deployer" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "actors[].ownership_control": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "ai_contribution": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "ai_relationship": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "category": "benefit created", "ai_role": { "status": "unassessed", "statement": "Bradford's model produced the similarity figures that underpinned the “undoubtedly Raphael” claim and the exhibition. 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It was reported on 26 January 2023 (Artforum). It found 97% similarity between the Madonna of the de Brecy Tondo and Raphael's Sistine Madonna, and 86% for the child. Ugail said the two “are undoubtedly by the same artist” (BBC, 25 July 2023). The painting, owned by the de Brecy Trust, went on public display at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, from July 2023. The display was extended “due to popular demand” to 3 January 2024, per Bradford Museums' own page. That page calls it “a mystery painting found to be undoubtedly by Raphael”. The Art Newspaper (26 July 2023) quoted Raphael scholars rejecting the attribution. An anonymous specialist said “The picture is clearly a copy from the 19th century”. Angelamaria Aceto (Ashmolean) would not support an AI-based assessment. Artnet (18 September 2023) reported that Art Recognition's model found with 85% probability that the Tondo was not painted by Raphael. The same company had earlier asserted with 92% certainty that the National Gallery's Samson and Delilah might not be by Rubens. No source on record shows a museum or auction house accepting an AI attribution. The AI finding was reported on 26 January 2023.", "benefit_type": "Improved Knowledge Discovery" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "account", "benefit_type" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].distribution": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].duration": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].id": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].stakeholder_group": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "ratings": [ { "group": "personal", "reason": "No individual beneficiary." }, { "group": "organizational", "depth": 1, "reason": "Bradford Museums exhibited the painting as a possible Raphael and extended the display “due to popular demand”." }, { "group": "societal", "reason": "The attribution is not accepted by scholars or institutions." } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; 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Models Set Out to Authenticate a Raphael Painting and Got Different Results, Casting Doubt on the Technology's Future", "url": "https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ai-art-authentication-will-not-replace-humans-2340290", "date": "2023-09-18", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "found with 85 percent probability that the de Brecy Tondo was not painted by Raphael." }, { "kind": "press release", "citation": "Bradford Museums & Galleries event page", "title": "The de Brecy Tondo", "url": "https://www.bradfordmuseums.org/whats-on/the-de-brecy-tondo", "written_by": "deployer", "quote": "a mystery painting found to be 'undoubtedly' by Raphael." }, { "kind": "other", "citation": "Art Recognition AG (n.d.). Raphael and the de Brécy Tondo Madonna: When One AI Gets Ahead of the Evidence. Case study.", "title": "Raphael and the de Brécy Tondo Madonna: When One AI Gets Ahead of the Evidence", "url": "https://art-recognition.com/case-studies/raphael-the-brecy-tondo/", "written_by": "makers" } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "evidence" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].id": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "identifiers", "identifiers": [ "AIBD-0276-source-0001", "AIBD-0276-source-0002", "AIBD-0276-source-0003", "AIBD-0276-source-0004", "AIBD-0276-source-0005" ], "role": "Existing evidence items, in their original order" }, "provenance": { "kind": "curatorial", "basis": "Stable within the fingerprinted record version; no source content or source review has been added.", "record_fields": [], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "complete" }, "sources[].language": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].relationship": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "evidence": [ { "kind": "news report", "citation": "BBC News, 25 Jul 2023", "title": "Lost Raphael masterpiece goes on show in Bradford in UK first", "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-66291225", "date": "2023-07-25", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "the Tondo and the Sistine Madonna are undoubtedly by the same artist" }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "The Art Newspaper, 26 Jul 2023", "title": "'Clearly a copy from the 19th century'-Old Masters scholars reject AI-attributed Raphael", "url": "https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/07/26/clearly-a-copy-from-the-19th-centuryold-masters-scholars-reject-ai-attributed-raphael", "date": "2023-07-26", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "The picture is clearly a copy from the 19th century." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Artnet News, 18 Sep 2023", "title": "Two A.I. Models Set Out to Authenticate a Raphael Painting and Got Different Results, Casting Doubt on the Technology's Future", "url": "https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ai-art-authentication-will-not-replace-humans-2340290", "date": "2023-09-18", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "found with 85 percent probability that the de Brecy Tondo was not painted by Raphael." }, { "kind": "press release", "citation": "Bradford Museums & Galleries event page", "title": "The de Brecy Tondo", "url": "https://www.bradfordmuseums.org/whats-on/the-de-brecy-tondo", "written_by": "deployer", "quote": "a mystery painting found to be 'undoubtedly' by Raphael." }, { "kind": "other", "citation": "Art Recognition AG (n.d.). Raphael and the de Brécy Tondo Madonna: When One AI Gets Ahead of the Evidence. Case study.", "title": "Raphael and the de Brécy Tondo Madonna: When One AI Gets Ahead of the Evidence", "url": "https://art-recognition.com/case-studies/raphael-the-brecy-tondo/", "written_by": "makers" } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "evidence" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].upstream_sources": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "strategic_assessments[]": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "family": "strategic assessments" }, "summary": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "summary": "Ugail's deep-learning comparison found 97% facial similarity with the Sistine Madonna; Cartwright Hall showed the Tondo July 2023-Jan 2024; Raphael scholars call it a copy; Art Recognition says not.", "account": "Hassan Ugail (University of Bradford) led a facial-recognition deep-learning comparison with University of Nottingham colleagues. It was reported on 26 January 2023 (Artforum). It found 97% similarity between the Madonna of the de Brecy Tondo and Raphael's Sistine Madonna, and 86% for the child. Ugail said the two “are undoubtedly by the same artist” (BBC, 25 July 2023). The painting, owned by the de Brecy Trust, went on public display at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, from July 2023. The display was extended “due to popular demand” to 3 January 2024, per Bradford Museums' own page. That page calls it “a mystery painting found to be undoubtedly by Raphael”. The Art Newspaper (26 July 2023) quoted Raphael scholars rejecting the attribution. An anonymous specialist said “The picture is clearly a copy from the 19th century”. Angelamaria Aceto (Ashmolean) would not support an AI-based assessment. Artnet (18 September 2023) reported that Art Recognition's model found with 85% probability that the Tondo was not painted by Raphael. The same company had earlier asserted with 92% certainty that the National Gallery's Samson and Delilah might not be by Rubens. No source on record shows a museum or auction house accepting an AI attribution. The AI finding was reported on 26 January 2023." } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "summary", "account" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].autonomy_permissions": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].component_role": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].deployment_configuration": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].inputs_outputs": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].model_name": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].model_version": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].product_name": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "system": "University of Bradford facial-recognition deep-learning comparison (Hassan Ugail); contrasted with Art Recognition's authentication model" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "system" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].provider": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "structured", "data": { "application_developer": "University of Bradford and University of Nottingham team (Ugail); Art Recognition AG (Carina Popovici)" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Mapped from the existing case description without a new external source review.", "record_fields": [ "developer" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "taxonomy_crosswalks[]": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "title": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "title": "Bradford facial-recognition AI may have identified the de Brecy Tondo as a Raphael; the painting goes on show", "headline": "Bradford AI may have identified the de Brecy Tondo as a Raphael" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "title", "headline" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "version": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "identifiers", "identifiers": [ "1fd297a79151c946bf8dcc227acc54176b4aed494ecd8eb5d22804920cc3ae53" ], "role": "SHA-256 of normalized original case data" }, "provenance": { "kind": "curatorial", "basis": "Deterministic content version assigned by the local migration.", "record_fields": [], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "complete" }, "workflow": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "account": "Hassan Ugail (University of Bradford) led a facial-recognition deep-learning comparison with University of Nottingham colleagues. It was reported on 26 January 2023 (Artforum). It found 97% similarity between the Madonna of the de Brecy Tondo and Raphael's Sistine Madonna, and 86% for the child. Ugail said the two “are undoubtedly by the same artist” (BBC, 25 July 2023). The painting, owned by the de Brecy Trust, went on public display at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford, from July 2023. The display was extended “due to popular demand” to 3 January 2024, per Bradford Museums' own page. That page calls it “a mystery painting found to be undoubtedly by Raphael”. The Art Newspaper (26 July 2023) quoted Raphael scholars rejecting the attribution. An anonymous specialist said “The picture is clearly a copy from the 19th century”. Angelamaria Aceto (Ashmolean) would not support an AI-based assessment. Artnet (18 September 2023) reported that Art Recognition's model found with 85% probability that the Tondo was not painted by Raphael. The same company had earlier asserted with 92% certainty that the National Gallery's Samson and Delilah might not be by Rubens. No source on record shows a museum or auction house accepting an AI attribution. The AI finding was reported on 26 January 2023.", "replication": { "produced_by": [ "Deep-learning facial-feature comparison between the Tondo and the Sistine Madonna", "Public exhibition by a municipal gallery" ], "must_hold": [ "Scholarly acceptance of AI attribution (absent)", "Agreement between independent AI authentication models (absent)" ], "echoes": [ { "date": "2023-09-18", "setting": "Art Recognition model applied to the same painting", "outcome": "did not recur", "source": "https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ai-art-authentication-will-not-replace-humans-2340290" }, { "setting": "Art Recognition claim that the National Gallery's Samson and Delilah might not be by Rubens; no institutional acceptance located", "outcome": "did not recur", "source": "https://news.artnet.com/art-world/ai-art-authentication-will-not-replace-humans-2340290" } ] } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "account", "replication" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" } }, "summary": { "total": 91, "addressed": 91, "known": 28, "reviewed": 0, "record_mapped": 28, "not_assessed": 63, "complete": false, "by_state": { "value_present": 28, "not_reported": 0, "unresolved": 0, "not_assessed": 63, "not_applicable": 0, "withheld": 0, "source_unavailable": 0 } } } }