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Is It? The Art Mystery Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Noah Charney
Is It? is a podcast on art history’s mysteries. In each episode, the question is asked whether a certain painting is by a certain famous artist. These are puzzle paintings, works that have divided and confounded scholars, sometimes for centuries. To answer this question, a guest expert, a specialist in the artist in question, is brought in. An expert in AI authentication from Art Recognition is also brought in. While the guest expert is the star of the show, a cutting edge AI analysis of the painting in question has been conducted, and the results are revealed in the final part of the episode. The podcast is hosted by award-winning presenter and best-selling art historian, Professor Noah Charney. The series covers suspected works by Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Van Eyck and many more.
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- May 6, 202632 min
Is It a Modigliani? with Georgina Adam
In the spring of 2026 a new Modigliani catalogue raisonne was published. It was the first catalogue raisonne to include a painting previous not attributed to the artist in question, now authenticated using AI. It is one of the countless examples of symbiosis, when the connoisseur and the AI image analysis agree. But the catalogue opens up other questions--some 15 works attributed to Modigliani in past catalogues were downgraded, no longer considered his work, while some 100 others were added, a huge number for an artist for whom a single work can command millions. To discuss this, I invited Carina Popovici, founder of Art Recognition, and Georgina Adam, an acclaimed British art journalist specializing in the art market. To learn more about Georgina Adam, click here. To learn more about Art Recognition, click here. To learn more about the catalogue raisonne, click here.
- Mar 31, 202640 min
Is It a Bronzino? with Bruce Edelstein
This episode features a portrait of Eleonora de Toledo, the wife of Duke Cosimo de Medici and an impressive woman, indeed. But is this portrait of her by the Medici court painter Bronzino? Or by his pupil and devoted follower Alessandro Allori? To explore who made this painting, we spoke with Bruce Edelstein, a professor and researcher based in Florence who is part of the global network of NYU. He is also a Bronzino specialist and has written a book on Eleonora. We are also joined by Alessandra Conti from Art Recognition who explains the cutting edge AI image analysis and how to interpret the results. So...it is a Bronzino? Or an Allori? Tune in to find out! To learn more about Bruce and his work, click here. To learn more about Art Recognition, click here.
- Feb 28, 202635 min
Can AI Solve an Art Theft? Interview with Steve Berry on the Ghent Altarpiece
In this special episode, we chat with Steve Berry. Steve is the mega bestselling author of thoughtful art and artefact treasure hunt thrillers. He has sold over 26 million books and counting, selling an average of a book every thirty seconds. His thrillers are deeply researched and include a note from the author section clarifying what has been changed to suit the plot, so that the reader will be clear on what is fact and where the fiction begins. Noah was Steve's expert consultant for the novel "The Omega Factor," which features Jan van Eyck's "Ghent Altarpiece." For this episode, Art Recognition tested the famous Judges panel from the altarpiece, which was stolen in 1934 and never recovered. Or was it? A conservator in the 1970s theorized that the replacement panel, painted by infamous restorer (and art forger) Jef van der Veken might actually be the stolen panel, painted over to surreptitiously return it to the cathedral of St Bavo from which it was stolen. Art Recognition's AI image analysis will determine whether this was the case, or if the missing panel is still out there. Along the way Steve and Noah chat about writing, research, van Eyck...and Noah introduces Steve to AI image analysis. To learn more about Steve Berry and his books, click here: https://steveberry.org To learn more about Art Recognition, click here: https://art-recognition.com To learn more about "The Ghent Altarpiece" consider reading Noah's book, "Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World's Most Coveted Masterpiece."
- Jan 31, 202633 min
Is It a Said? with Jehane Ragai
In this episode, we’re turning our attention to the work of Mahmoud Sa'id, one of the most important and influential figures in modern Egyptian art. Trained in Europe yet deeply rooted in Egyptian culture, Sa’id created a body of work that blends academic technique with a distinctly local vision. His paintings occupy a central place in the history of twentieth-century Egyptian modernism—and they also raise important questions about attribution, variation, and legacy. To discuss a painting that she selected for AI image analysis, I’m joined by Jehane Ragai, emeritus professor of chemistry at the American University in Cairo. Professor Ragai is a pioneer in the scientific analysis of artworks, with decades of experience applying chemistry and materials science to questions of attribution, authenticity, and conservation. Her work has been especially influential in the study of modern Egyptian painting, where scientific evidence can play a crucial role in clarifying complex art-historical and market questions. She’s the author of two excellent books that are sitting on my shelf: "The Scientist and the Forger" and "Technical Art History." I’m also joined by Batu Arda Düzgün, AI Developer at Art Recognition, where he works at the intersection of machine learning, visual analysis, and art authentication. Batu develops systems that analyze artistic patterns at a level of scale and precision impossible for the human eye alone, offering new tools for understanding authorship, consistency, and deviation within an artist’s oeuvre. Let's ask the question: Is it a Sa'id?
- Dec 31, 202543 min
Is It a Van Eyck? with Till-Holger Borchert
This episode of Is It? the art mystery podcasts looks at a small painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art which is largely attributed to Jan van Eyck: "Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata." But is it actually by van Eyck? To discuss this and the results of the cutting-edge AI image analysis by Art Recognition, I'll speak with Till-Holger Borchert, director of the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen, and an authority on van Eyck. To see the painting in question, displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art click here.To see the other version of the painting, displayed at the Sabauda Gallery in Turin, click here.To learn more about Till-Holger Borchert, click here.To learn more about Art Recognition, click here.
- Nov 30, 202536 min
Is It Responsible? Guidelines for the Use of AI for Art Authentication
This episode is about the Guidelines on the Ethical Use of AI for Image Analysis in Art Authentication. AI is everywhere, but that means that the term is being used with sometimes reckless abandon. For any serious field—like art attribution—it’s important to lay out recommendations for how best, most transparently, and most effectively to use AI. These guidelines were developed jointly by Art Recognition and the Center for Art Law (with a little help from me), and they offer a framework for how artificial intelligence can be used responsibly, transparently, and collaboratively in the authentication of artworks. To discuss the guidelines, I’ve invited Carina Popovici, co-founder of Art Recognition and a past guest on this podcast, and Irina Tarsis, the founder of the Center for Art Law. The three of us were the main drivers of these guidelines, with significant feedback and input from a variety of others, many lawyers working with the Center for Art Law. See the Guidelines themselves by visiting https://art-recognition.com/ or https://itsartlaw.org/ or direct download here.
- Oct 31, 202546 min
Is It a De La Tour? with Veronique Plesch
Today’s mystery centers on a painter of light and silence—Georges de La Tour. His candlelit saints and beggars are hauntingly still, so perfect in their quiet intensity that they almost seem modern. But as with many great artists, the line between what’s real, what’s a copy, and what’s an outright forgery can get blurry. To help us untangle this mystery, I’m joined once again by Carina Popovici, co-founder and CEO of Art Recognition, the Swiss company using artificial intelligence to authenticate artworks. And with us for the first time, my own former professor at Colby College, art historian Veronique Plesch. Together, we’re going to test a painting that just might be by one of France’s most enigmatic masters.
- Sep 30, 202538 min
Is It a Velazquez? with Matthew Wilson
Today’s featured picture is called Portrait of a Man. It certainly looks like a Velazquez. But you know what question I’m going to ask. Is it? To answer this question, I've invited two guests. First, Batu Arda Düzgün, originally from Turkey, is a researcher at Art Recognition, a company that uses artificial intelligence to help authenticate artworks. With a background that spans both computer science and art history, Arda is at the forefront of applying cutting-edge machine learning to some of the oldest and most mysterious paintings in the world. Joining him is British art historian Matthew Wilson, an expert on visual symbolism and the author of several widely-read books, including Symbols in Art, The Hidden Language of Symbols, and Art Unpacked, all published by Thames & Hudson. Matthew’s work uncovers the layers of meaning behind what we see, offering insight into the codes, allegories, and visual metaphors that artists have used across centuries. Arda’s work likewise uncovers layers of meaning but in the form of complex image analysis and the use of AI. What do they have to say about the artwork featured in today’s episode? Listen to find out.
About Is It? The Art Mystery Podcast
Is It? is a podcast on art history’s mysteries. In each episode, the question is asked whether a certain painting is by a certain famous artist. These are puzzle paintings, works that have divided and confounded scholars, sometimes for centuries. To answer this question, a guest expert, a specialist in the artist in question, is brought in. An expert in AI authentication from Art Recognition is also brought in. While the guest expert is the star of the show, a cutting edge AI analysis of the painting in question has been conducted, and the results are revealed in the final part of the episode. The podcast is hosted by award-winning presenter and best-selling art historian, Professor Noah Charney. The series covers suspected works by Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Van Eyck and many more.
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