AAA - Augmented Artwork Analysis. Computer-aided interpretation device for art images

An application designed to be used in front of a painting in a museum – for an enhanced experience of the work of art, for an active relation with the images.

The project at a glance

Start date:

01 Mar 2021
Duration in months:

48
Funding:

FNR / Agence Nationale de la Recherche
Principal Investigator(s):

Gian Maria Tore

Pierluigi Basso (external)

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Today, we are surrounded by images – but the school system does not teach us how to read them. Museums work on their conservation, although unhappily they do not seem very attractive to us. On the other hand, the digital is supposed to revolutionize our life, since it seems to give us all kind of power on images and texts, but how to make a groundbreaking approach to images out of it?

“Augmented Artwork Analysis” is an innovative prototype tool, adapted to the museum sector (namely the MNHA of Luxembourg, the Fine Arts Museums of Lyon and of Lille) and allowing to interpret artistic images with the help of software. The aim is to study the different levels (the figures, the colours, the shapes…) of the work of art considered in its original place and within a vast body of images. Attention will be paid to the links between the images and to their evolution. The interpretation thus acquires a scientific dimension, as well as a pedagogical one.

The scientific objective is to bring together the most advanced approaches in quantitative and in qualitative sciences: recent findings in Visual Studies, knowledge about “augmented reality”, i.e. the ways in which computer-generated perceptual information showcases objects of the real world, and methods based on “deep learning”, which means the use of machine learning methods. An international network of more than 20 scholars is gathered for the realization of the “Augmented Artwork Analysis”. Delivering an “augmented” work of art, this tool will be used for guided tours, educational meetings and research. The idea is to create an alternative museum to the traditional museums, and thus a new awareness of the meanings of the world of images.

The project is a cooperation between the French CNRS, the Université Lyon 2, the Université de Liège and the 91��Ƶ funded by the ANR/FNR funding program

The Project in Practice

Our Events

2-4 June 2023 – Festival d’histoire de l’art, Fontainebleau, France

Roundtable: A Better View of Paintings – A matter of “motifs”

At the intersection of art history and semiotics, three talks examined how motifs function as recurring figures or themes through diverse works: Rosso Fiorentino’s Bacchus, Venus and Cupid (Luxembourg), an anonymous 16th-century suicide scene (Lille), and Courbet’s landscapes (Berlin, Lyon, Lille). The discussions highlighted the motif as a key interpretive lens for understanding continuity and transformation in visual culture.
15-19 January 2024 – Academia Belgica & Villa Medici, Rome, Italy

Winter School: Augmented Art – Between Past and Future: Art History, Semiotics and Humanities

This event explored how digital tools and new theoretical approaches transform the way we study and present art. Through lectures and hands-on workshops, participants examined the concept of augmented artworks, the role of AI and data in art history and strategies for connecting past and present.
20-22 June 2024 – Ecole Nationale Supérieure, Lyon, France

Colloque – Question the Perceptible, Images Answering Each Other. A tool- and AI-assisted Analysis
22-24 October 2025 – Musée National d’Archéologie, Histoire, Art / Centre National de l’Audiovisuel / Luxembourg Learning Center, Luxembourg

Symposium Curating and Editing – Between Museums and Media: Gestures of Image Knowledge

Through discussions and demonstrations, the symposium addressed the role of image manipulation, ethical and epistemological questions and the integration of interactive digital tools to enhance visitor engagement and scholarly analysis. The event underlined the clear need for new approaches that combine traditional expertise with innovative media tools to deepen our understanding of artworks.
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Our Workshops

19 & 20 May 2022 – Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille, France

Studies of Museum Visits, With and Without Digital Media
17 June 2022 – Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille, France

Experimental Workshop on “Augmenting” Artworks with Image Networks
17-19 September 2025 – Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille, France

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