347 years after his death, one of the greatest Masters of all time is brought back to life to create one more masterpiece. But this time, data is the painter and technology the brush: The Next Rembrandt.

The Next Rembrandt is a 3D printed painting made completely out of Rembrandt-data. All of his 346 paintings were analysed using hi-res 3D scans and digital files upscaled by a deep learning algorithm.

Facial recognition and machine learning software was designed to understand Rembrandt’s style and use those learnings to generate new facial features, which were assembled based on his use of geometric proportions.

Finally, a height map was created to mimic Rembrandt’s brushstrokes. The file was brought to life through an advanced 3D printer that printed 13 layers of paint based UV-ink.

The Next Rembrandt was unveiled and exhibited in Amsterdam on the 5th of April 2016.

The Next Rembrandt was unveiled in front of a packed auditorium of press and experts, who had received an ambiguous invitation one week beforehand. Once the painting was revealed, there was a live Q&A followed by TV, radio and newspaper interviews. At the moment of unveiling a press kit was sent to an exhaustive list of global media across all categories.

Two aspects of the approach were particularly effective:

1. Only one exclusive was given: The Guardian broke the story just as the painting was unveiled. This strategy paid off, as the high traffic to the Guardian and the nature of the piece ensured intense press interest from all corners of the world.

2. Embracing controversy: The responses to The Next Rembrandt were (and still are) diametrically opposed. This clash of opinion fuelled the momentum around the campaign. It easily became the number #1 trending topic on Twitter at launch.

People from all over the world came to experience the unveiling and exhibition in Amsterdam. There the global conversation started.

- The Next Rembrandt was global trending topic, reporting 10 million Twitter impressions on unveiling-day.

- Over 1.400 articles (and counting) were written.

- All major news networks covered the unveiling, commenting on its meaning for future innovations.

- Globally over 1.8 billion media impressions.

- Earned media value: 12.5 milllion euro.

- On launch day Fortune Magazine reported an increase in stock value for ING (ING ^1.22%) and partner Microsoft (MSFT ^ 0.49%).

- After launch, Google reported ING’s Search Interest increased by 61.29% and Microsoft by 20%.

Next to the ongoing global conversation about the meaning for our industry and the future of creativity, there was another fundamental result: the technology developed for The Next Rembrandt is now used for the restauration of damaged and partially lost Masterpieces.