The Digital Delacroix project, which is led by professor Barthélémy Jobert from Sorbonne University in Paris, uses A.I. to uncover new insights of Eugène Delacroix’s artistic methods and legacy. The project is financially supported by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy through their nonprofit Schmidt Sciences. Recently they introduced their Humanities and A.I. Virtual Institute (HAVI) grants program, a fund of $10 million supporting 10 to 15 initiatives. The New York Times reports that the grant for Digital Delacroix is thought to be in the high six figures.
As the Sorbonne University announced on their website: “The project will harness artificial intelligence, 3D technology, and digital humanities to offer a new perspective on the work and creative process of the master of Romanticism.”
The project will focus on analysis of the murals painted by Delacroix in the French Parliament buildings that were photographed with high-resolution cameras to develop a 3D digital model that allows researchers to examine the work in every detail. According to the New York Times, the goal is to determine "What did Delacroix paint himself, and what did he leave to his assistants?" The researchers will train an A.I. computer vision system with technical data on the individual brushstrokes by Delacroix and his assistants. Brent Seales, who leads Schmidt Sciences’ humanities-and-AI branch notes A.I. might be able to identify a "constellation of small things tied to the specific behavior and training of a unique person," as Artnet reports.
The Digital Delacroix project also aims to create a digital 3D reconstruction of the lost murals in the Salon de la Paix at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris which were destroyed during a fire in 1871.
Wendy Schmidt stated that, "As philanthropists, we have the ability to take risks that government and businesses cannot or will not". Brent Seales believes that "A.I. is a new lens through which we can view master works," as Artnet reports.
