By David Nield
Publication Date: 2026-01-29 12:00:00
Artificial intelligence (AI) can be trained to recognize details in images that the human eye misses. In 2023, an AI neural network discovered something unusual about a face in a Raphael painting: it wasn’t actually painted by Raphael.
The face in question belongs to St. Joseph and can be seen at the top left of the painting known as “The.” Madonna della Rosa (or Madonna of the Rose).
In fact, scholars have long debated whether the painting is an original by Raphael or not. In 1667, the work of art was discovered to be hanging in a monastery in Spain, where it remained until it was added to the collections of the Spanish National Art Museum in 1857.
Related: Hidden crotch detail solves 500-year-old Leonardo Da Vinci mystery
The history – or origin – of the Madonna of the Rose however, before 1667 is a complete mystery.
Although it has been fully attributed to Raphael since his time in Spain, experts have noted that the color palette and execution of Saint Joseph distinguishes it from the other figures in…
