Using X-rays, artificial intelligence and 3D printing, two UCL researchers reproduced a "lost" work of art by renowned Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, 135 years after he painted over it.
PhD researchers Anthony Bourached (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) and George Cann (UCL Space and Climate Physics), working with artist Jesper Eriksson, used cutting edge technology to recreate a long-concealed Van Gogh painting.
It's the latest in their "NeoMasters" series of recreations, a project they've been working on since 2019 to bring lost works of art to life.
They developed a process to recreate lost works that uses x-ray imaging to see through every layer of paint, AI to extrapolate the artist's style, and 3D printing to fabricate the final piece.
This newest effort, dubbed "The Two Wrestlers," depicts two shirtless wrestlers grappling in front of an abstract background. It recreates a painting originally by Van Gogh who covered over the two figures when he reused the canvas for an unrelated painting of flowers.
