The Easel

8th August 2023

Who is Herzog & de Meuron’s Royal Academy show for?

Fran Williams | Architects’Journal | 19th July 2023

Herzog & de Meuron are ‘starchitects’. A high profile London show offers a peek into their back office Yes, it reveals the “remarkable trajectory” from austere houses to mega-projects. It also acknowledges H&M’s imaginative use of materials. But architecture is a collaborative endeavour. What is the aesthetic or design philosophy that unites such a remarkable team? This show has an impenetrable quality – “made by architects, just for architects”. Images are here.

1st August 2023

‘Clearly a copy from the 19th century’—Old Masters scholars reject AI-attributed Raphael

Gareth Harris | The Art Newspaper | 26th July 2023

Technologists have used AI to attribute a much-debated painting to Raphael. Previously thought to be just a copy, this finding calls much connoisseurship into question, to the displeasure of Old Masters experts. Says one “This story is so perfectly AI; it can’t tell what’s real or not”. In response, a technologist claims that AI can detect “subtle differences, for example brushstroke patterns, colours, hues … in greater detail than the naked eye”. Recent pigment analysis is consistent with the AI finding. Expect more fireworks!

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