AI learns to mimic the unique styles of master artists including Van Gogh, Vermeer and Turner

Apprenticeship has a long history in art -- and now a painting AI will join the ranks of those who have honed their skills by imitating the masterpieces of other artists. Much like the pupils of the old masters, the new AI meticulously studies the work of virtuoso painters like Vermeer and Van Gogh and learns to reproduce their works. The arty algorithm uses deep learning techniques to master the way that each artist lays their brushstrokes on the canvas, mimicking stroke colour, density and size. Once adept at a given approach, the AI can then make new works of art in the learnt style based on photographs given to it. The algorithm, dubbed'PaintBot', is the creation of a team of researchers from the University of Maryland, the ByteDance AI Lab and Adobe Research.