Beyond the screen: MIT student creates AI that restores paintings with polymer film “masks”

MIT mechanical engineering graduate student Alex Kachkine has developed a revolutionary method to physically restore damaged paintings using AI-generated polymer film “masks” that can be applied directly to original artworks. The breakthrough technique completed a restoration of a 15th-century oil painting in just 3.5 hours—approximately 66 times faster than traditional methods—while maintaining a digital record of all changes for future conservators.

How it works: The method combines AI analysis with physical application through a sophisticated multi-step process.

• First, conservators clean the original painting and remove previous restoration attempts to reveal the underlying damage.
• The cleaned painting is scanned, and existing AI algorithms analyze the image to create a virtual version of what the work likely looked like originally.
• Custom software maps all regions requiring restoration and determines the exact colors needed, creating a digital blueprint for repair.
• Two ultra-thin polymer film layers are printed using high-fidelity inkjets—one in color and one in white to achieve full spectrum reproduction.
• The films are carefully aligned by hand and adhered to the original painting with a thin spray of conventional varnish.

The big picture: This breakthrough addresses a major bottleneck in art conservation, where thousands of damaged artworks remain in gallery storage because traditional restoration is too time-intensive.

• Kachkine’s demonstration painting required repairs to 5,612 separate regions using 57,314 different colors.
• Traditional restoration of similar works can take anywhere from weeks to over a decade.
• “There is a lot of damaged art in storage that might never be seen,” Kachkine says. “Hopefully with this new method, there’s a chance we’ll see more art.”

Key advantages: The system offers unprecedented precision, reversibility, and documentation compared to traditional methods.

• The polymer films can be easily dissolved with conservation-grade solutions if removal becomes necessary.
• Digital files of each mask create permanent records showing exactly what changes were made—something “never really been possible in conservation before,” according to Kachkine.
• The method becomes more efficient as damage increases: “The more losses there are, the better this method is.”

What conservators are saying: Kachkine emphasizes that ethical considerations and expert oversight remain crucial despite the technological advancement.

• “It will take a lot of deliberation about the ethical challenges involved at every stage in this process to see how can this be applied in a way that’s most consistent with conservation principles,” he says.
• Any application should be done in consultation with conservators who understand a painting’s history and the artist’s original style and intent.

The backstory: The innovation emerged from Kachkine’s personal passion for art restoration combined with his engineering expertise.

• During his 2021 road trip to MIT, gallery visits revealed that most acquired artworks remain in storage due to damage and restoration time constraints.
• Kachkine practices traditional restoration as a hobby, which gave him firsthand experience with the process’s limitations.
• He previously spent nine months restoring a baroque Italian painting with similar damage levels to his demonstration piece.

Why this matters: The method could fundamentally transform art conservation by making restoration economically viable for thousands of damaged works currently deemed too time-intensive to repair, potentially bringing hidden masterpieces back to public view while maintaining rigorous documentation standards for future generations.