Computer "Studies" Rembrandt's Style and Produces 3D Printed Painting

Rembrandt was arguably the first artist to really master the "selfie," and he did so all the way back in the 1600s. Now, a team of technologists working with Microsoft are bringing Rembrandt's technique into the modern age--they have produced a 3D printed painting in the style of the Dutch master. "Our goal was to make a machine that works like Rembrandt," Emmanuel Flores, director of technology for the project, told the BBC. "We will understand better what makes a masterpiece a masterpiece." To accomplish this feat, data on Rembrandt's works was gathered by computers, which discovered patterns in how he would paint certain features, like facial features, for example. Then, machine-learning algorithms were created that could output a new portrait in the familiar Rembrandt style.