The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2015–2016
ING and JWT Amsterdam train AI on Rembrandt's 346 paintings — a new 'Rembrandt' unveiled
Data from 168,263 fragments of Rembrandt's work let a computer paint and 3D-print a new portrait; the project won two Cannes Grands Prix.
ING · J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam
What it had to solve
ING, a Dutch bank, had sponsored Dutch art for years and wanted its innovative culture to show through that sponsorship — but art is a world steeped in tradition. JWT Amsterdam picked the public's anxiety about data as the theme: show that data can be emotional and human.
How it works
ING, a Dutch multinational bank, had sponsored Dutch art for years and wanted its innovation to show through a sponsorship world steeped in tradition. JWT Amsterdam turned the theme of the moment — public anxiety about data — into the brief: show that data can be human and emotionally touching.
For 18 months the team analyzed 168,263 fragments from all 346 known Rembrandt paintings using deep-learning and facial-recognition algorithms. The system derived what a new Rembrandt portrait should be — subject, composition, lighting and brushwork — and produced a digital painting of more than 148 million pixels.
The image was then printed in 13 layers of paint-based UV ink on canvas to recreate the texture of a real painting, with help from Microsoft and a TU Delft team led by Professor Joris Dik; art historians from the Mauritshuis and the Rembrandt House Museum contributed expertise.
Unveiled in Amsterdam on 5 April 2016, the portrait generated coverage around the world — 1,400+ press mentions and about 1.8 billion media impressions — and won Grand Prix in both the Cyber and Creative Data categories at Cannes Lions 2016, becoming a benchmark for creative-data work.
Why it lands
- The claim was embodied: instead of saying ING is innovative with data, the work produced an object — a new Rembrandt — that made the idea visible and debatable.
- It flipped a fear into wonder: a project born from anxiety about data ended with people marveling at data's ability to touch a beloved artist.
- The craft was real: 13 layers of 3D-printed UV paint and input from art historians made it a physical painting, not a screen graphic.
- A single unveiling event gave the world one moment to cover, so the campaign spread without paid media.
What it did
Unveiled in Amsterdam on 5 April 2016, the painting started a global conversation about data and art: 1,400+ press mentions and about 1.8 billion media impressions, and Grand Prix in both Cyber and Creative Data at Cannes Lions 2016.
What you can take
Turn an abstract corporate claim into a tangible artifact: a bank saying 'we innovate with data' became a painting people could see, touch and argue about — an object travels further than a claim.
Since then
The project became the benchmark for creative-data work and is still cited in industry case collections and award retrospectives; its two Cannes Grands Prix made it among the most awarded campaigns of 2016. The film explaining the process remains the standard reference for the case, and the portrait continued to appear in exhibitions and brand content long after the launch.
Sources
- The Next Rembrandt (D&AD archive)
- This 3D-printed Rembrandt is the new frontier in forgery
- The Next Rembrandt — ING (case study)
- The Next Rembrandt (Cannes 2冠 case)
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