What painting is this? Identify a painting from a photo
Take or upload a photo of a painting, in a museum, a book, a poster or on a screen, and the identifier names it: title, artist, year, medium and the museum that holds the original. It reads a wall label when it can see one, and it says how sure it is.
If we print the work, the print is one click away. If we don't, you get the same artist's other works. Nothing is stored: the photo is sent to Anthropic's Claude model to be identified, and the answer comes back to you.
Take a photo of a painting, or drop one here.
Your photo goes to Anthropic’s Claude model to be identified and is not stored by us.
How it works, and how to get a good answer
- An AI vision model (Claude, by Anthropic) looks at the whole photo: the composition, the brushwork, the colours and any caption or wall label in view.
- When it names a work we print, we match it against our own verified records (title, artist, year, medium and holding museum, checked against the museums' catalogues) and show those editions.
- Sure means it recognises the work outright; very likely means one close version among several; best guess means treat it as a lead, not an answer.
- For the best result: stand square to the painting, fill the frame, avoid glare from the glass, and include the wall label if there is one.
Worked examples
- A photo of a print of The Starry Night: The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh, 1889, oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, New York. Sure.
- A plain scan of Hammershøi's Interior, Strandgade 30 with no caption: named correctly from the room, the door and the figure seen from behind, as very likely, because he painted the same apartment many times.
- A page of Audubon's Birds of America: Snowy Owl, plate 121, read from the engraved caption.
Famous paintings we print
Questions
Is the painting identifier free?
Yes. No sign-up and no app; it works in the browser on a phone or a computer.
Is my photo stored?
Not by us. It is sent to Anthropic's Claude model to be identified and the answer comes straight back; we keep no copy.
Can it identify a painting that isn't famous?
It will describe what it can see: the period, the school, the technique and, when the hand is recognisable, the likely artist. It only names a specific work when it can recognise it.
Can it tell me what my painting is worth?
No. It identifies works; it does not value or authenticate them. For a valuation, ask an accredited appraiser or an auction house.
Does it work on prints, posters and screens?
Yes. It identifies the original work behind any reproduction: a print, a poster, a postcard, a book plate or a photo on a screen.
Sources
Updated 2026-11-03. Free to use; no sign-up. To cite: Madten, “What painting is this? Identify a painting from a photo”, https://www.madten.com/tools/painting-identifier.