Gustav Klimt’s 1900 painting Philosophy might have been remembered as a pivotal artwork. Made at a turning point in the artist’s career, it was vividly coloured, dramatically composed – even provocative in its blatant nudity and unflinching emotion. But in 1945, the work was destroyed in a fire and essentially lost to history.
For decades, only black-and-white photographs of Philosophy existed. Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, we can see the work in full colour. But does the recreation really look like the original? Does it even look like a Klimt?
