Learn how to paint from the Master himself in The Rembrandt Tutorials

J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam uses data and technology to bring back the voice of Rembrandt

Amsterdam, 28th Feb 2019 - Today at Amsterdam’s most famous museum, the Rijksmuseum, the voice of Rembrandt was unveiled. A group of experts, working together with ING Bank, has used voice technology, research and data to recreate the painting techniques, personality, language and voice of the Dutch master. The results are featured in ‘The Rembrandt Tutorials’, as narrated by the famous painter ‘himself’: spoken in his own words, using his original 17th century language, manner of speech and the reconstructed sound his own voice.

On the 350th anniversary of his death Rembrandt is teaching people to paint again.

“2019 is The Year of Rembrandt, and as chief sponsor of the Rijksmuseum, we’re celebrating the enduring legacy of one of the greatest painters in the history of the Netherlands. What many people don’t know, is that during his lifetime Rembrandt was devoted to teaching his pupils how to paint. By recreating his voice, we’re enabling the master to teach again – 350 years after his last lesson. And with the use of innovative technology, Rembrandt’s painting lessons are now available to everyone.”

Reverse voice technology

Over the past six months, ING together with advertising agency J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam and a team of experts has worked on recreating Rembrandt’s voice and producing The Rembrandt Tutorials.

Rembrandt’s painting technique and personality were first analysed by experts of the Rijksmuseum. Next, the Dutch Language Institute translated the tutorials into Nieuwnederlands, a version of Dutch spoken in Rembrandt’s time. Because the written and spoken word are quite different from one another, the University of Leiden helped reproduce the original 17th century pronunciation. And by combining all the data, Rembrandt’s voice was finally recreated with the help of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, USA.

“We’re able to do so much now with modern technology and data. There’s a huge increase in the use of biometrics: identification methods based on unique physical traits. We can already produce facial composites based on voice recordings. In this case, we reversed the technology to recreate Rembrandt’s voice. As far as I know, this is the very first time a voice has been reconstructed using self-portraits and data. Without the technological developments in A.I., none of this would have been possible.”

“Once again, this is a project that shows ING’s drive to apply technology and innovation to the domain of culture sponsorship. Making rich Dutch cultural heritage accessible to all. As a creative agency, assignments like these are right up our alley. We believe that the marriage of technology and creativity is a happy one. And one that will last. Oh, and of course we love Rembrandt. He was, is and will be a big inspiration for us always.”

Painting lessons by Rembrandt

With The Rembrandt Tutorials, anyone can learn to paint like Rembrandt. The series, consisting of six different tutorials, highlights various topics, including sketching and portrait painting, painting techniques and materials, use of light and underpainting, and colour composition. The Rembrandt Tutorials can be viewed from today at www.ing.nl/rembrandt

Watch the campaign film here:

Download images here:

Watch the first three Rembrandt Tutorials here:

Tutorial 1: https://youtu.be/8_A0sZi1ZEQ

Tutorial 2: https://youtu.be/6553_qjnhpY

Tutorial 3: https://youtu.be/HwHlEze2Zx0

Credit List

CLIENT: ING

Sponsormanager cultuur: Eline Overkleeft

Hoofd sponsoring evenementen & activatie: Tjitske Benedictus

Communicatieadviseur: Rixt Hoitinga

Sr. Communicatiemanager: Mirjam Smit

Communicatiemanager Media: Ana Paula Risson

Communicatieadviseur Social Media: Marlies Hilgersom

AGENCY: J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam

Creative partner: Bas Korsten

Creative director: Maarten Vrouwes

Creative director: Friso Ludenhoff

Senior art director: Tunchan Kalkan

Copywriter: Nils van der Assen

Creative: Marius Gottlieb

Creative: Jasper Korpershoek

Senior creative: Saskia Meijer

Senior creative: Rene Verhagen

Founding partner: Ralph Wisbrun

Technology producer: Michiel van der Schalk

TV producer: Michiel van der Schalk

Digital producer: Reinier Slothouber

Senior producer: Eline Paardekooper

Producer: Julie van Lanschot

Digital strategy director: Wybe Sallows

Designer: Ronald Mica

PR Director: Jessica Hartley

Production Company: DPPLR

Director: Maarten Groen

Executive Producer: Aemilia van Lent

Producer: Jolien Snyers

DOP: Gabor Deak

Sound: Richard Wilder

Sound (US): Chris Bell

Editor:   Laura Brouwer

Editor: Johannes de Jong

Carnegie Mellon University

Speech scientist & Professor: Rita Singh

Professor: Bhiksha Raj

Student: Mahmoud Al Ismail Student: Danish Aukhan Student: Abehno Jimenez Student: Alex Litzenberger Student: Benjamin Martinez Elizalde Student: Hira Dhamyal Student: Joana Correia Student: Muhammad A. Shah Student: Shahan Ali Memon Student: Wenbos Liu Student: Yang Gao

Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal

Onderzoeker & Historisch taal- en letterkundige: Dirk Geirnaert

Senior Onderzoeker, Taalkundige: Tanneke Schoonheim

Onderzoeker & Historisch taal- en letterkundige: Roland de Bonth

Universiteit Leiden

Historisch taalexpert: Olga van Marion

Rijksmuseum

Rembrandt expert & Conservator: Jonathan Bikker Development sponsoring: Hanneke Beynen

Artist

Artist: Jan Bustin

Milvum (Tech partner for facial recognition)

CTO: Arvind Jagesser

Developer: Kaj Oudshoorn

Developer: Tim de Jong

Artbox

Producer: Marice Hanraets

3D-artist: Jurg Neve