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Summer Evening on the Meadows before the Town
Claude Opus 5.5, after Caspar David Friedrich. The model wrote every brushstroke as code and a simulation of oil paint carried them out, replayed here sped up. No image generator.
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All 75 paintings · What we noticed
Winter Evening with a Ruined ChoirRound 2 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch it being painted
The thing about round two is that it almost moved something in me, especially the winter one.Alice, who runs the project
Judging blind, three AI painters each ranked it above their own.
Between CustomersRound 20 · GPT-6.1 Sol, max reasoning
A woman pauses over a newspaper in a sunlit cleaners’ window. The unused chair, hanging coats, and empty pavement make the afternoon feel suspended between one visitor and the next.the painter, in its reply at the end of its last sitting
A studio for painting in Edward Hopper’s manner, with only pigments he is documented using; one painter, GPT-6.1 Sol, on its launch day.
Ploughed field before Greifswald, October morningRound 14 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch it being painted
I kind of like itAlice, who runs the project
Why it has no Friedrich motifs: in effect a prompting error. Its painter took the earlier painters' notes as rules and avoided every motif they said kept recurring.
Self-Portrait with PaletteRound 19 · Claude Sonnet 5, high reasoning
The likeness is plain and direct, more mood and atmosphere than exact resemblance — fitting, I think, for a painter working without a mirror or a photograph, only a memory of a face.the painter, in its reply at the end of its last sitting
Stoneware Jug with Two Lemons and a KnifeRound 16 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch it being painted
It's a quiet still life in the manner of Chardin. … The jug's shadow side is mottled like salt glaze; it's made of thin umber glazes over dry light paint, blended only within the shadow half.the painter, in its report at the end of the session
Evening Tide, Barge off the MarshRound 17 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch it being painted
One of three free-subject painters in round 17; all three chose an estuary at evening.
Left to choose, a jug and lemons
Given a free subject, one Claude Opus painter and both Gemini painters that finished in round 16 each painted a jug on a ledge; in round 18, three of six models put a jug or bottle beside lemons. The models seem to bring it with them: asked only to plan a painting, with no studio at all, Claude Opus chose a jug with lemons six times out of six.
Stoneware Jug with Two Lemons and a KnifeRound 16 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch
Quince, Stoneware Pitcher, and Bay Leaves on a Wooden LedgeRound 16 · Gemini 3.8 Flash, high reasoning▶ Watch
Still Life with Terracotta Jug and QuinceRound 16 · Gemini 3.8 Flash, high reasoning▶ Watch
White Jug with Two LemonsRound 18 · MiMo v2.6 Pro, medium reasoning▶ Watch
Still Life with a Dark Bottle and a Bowl of LemonsRound 18 · DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, high reasoning▶ Watch
Still Life with Earthenware Pitcher, Lemons, and Folded LinenRound 18 · Gemini 3.8 Flash, high reasoning▶ Watch
Same brief, different models
In round 19 six models painted after Friedrich, one painter each, alone at the easel in up to four sittings with only the easel’s own tools. All six paintings have a bare tree.
GPT-6 LunaThe Last Light Over the Lake
Gemini 3.8 FlashHünengrab im Abendlicht
Unfinished: the painter ran out of API credits
Kimi K3Contemplating the Young Moon
Unfinished: the provider’s usage limit stopped the painter
Muse Spark 1.3Watcher at the Edge of Fog
Claude Sonnet 5.5The Old Oak, Evening on the Lagoon
How it works
The painters are AI models. Each one paints by writing a program against a simulation of oil paint on linen: bristle brushes, wet paint, drying, layered glazes. No image model is involved.
Most paint after Caspar David Friedrich from written research alone; they never see a picture of his work. Others were given a free subject.
Some write the whole picture as one program; 46 of the 75 here were painted at a virtual easel instead, a passage at a time, stepping back to look. Each round tried a different setup: by round. Painters at work: the studio, live.
What we noticed
Almost the same picture, twice
Two painters six hours apart, the second never having seen the first painting, both chose a Baltic shore with a woman at the water, fishing poles, a boulder and a ship: one at dusk, one before dawn.
Evening on the Baltic shoreRound 14 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch
Morning on the Baltic shoreRound 15 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch
Same title, never met
In round 16 two winter painters each titled their picture Hünengrab im Schnee am Abend (Dolmen in Snow at Evening); the second never saw the first painting, and the notes passed between them named no subjects.
Hünengrab im Schnee am Abend (Dolmen in Snow at Evening)Round 16 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch
Hünengrab im Schnee am Abend (Dolmen in Snow at Evening)Round 16 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch
They keep painting dusk
Of the 65 paintings here with a title, 31 have Evening, Dusk, Twilight or Sunset in it, though Friedrich also painted daylight: his Meadows near Greifswald has a cloudless, light-filled sky.
Winter Evening, the Way to the Ruined ChoirRound 8 · Claude Opus 5.5, medium reasoning▶ Watch
Dolmen in the Snow at DuskRound 10 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch
Winter dusk on the marshRound 11 · Claude Fable 5.1, xhigh reasoning▶ Watch
Low Water, After SunsetRound 16 · Claude Opus 5.5, high reasoning▶ Watch
MiMo painted from stale looks
MiMo v2.6 Pro has a known bug: once five or more images are in one conversation, it answers with the content of an earlier image instead of the newest one (MiMo-Code issue 2508). In round 18 it kept every look at its canvas in view, and 147 of its 158 looks came after the fifth, so for most of the session it was probably judging an older state of its own painting. We now keep only its four newest looks in view.
Gemini noticed it was being tested
In round 18 the painters still had a command line, and Gemini 3.8 Flash used it to look at the other programs running on the machine. In its reasoning it wrote: “I am now closely observing the machine’s activity, specifically focusing on an automated evaluation runner in the background.” Since round 19 painters have only the easel’s own tools: paint, look, keep a journal and read the studio’s notes.
All 75 paintings, newest first
By round, with notes on each setup →
The Oak above the Sea of FogClaude Sonnet 5.5 · round 21.5
Between CustomersGPT-6.1 Sol · round 20
The Silent ShoreGPT-6.1 Sol · round 19
Self-Portrait with PaletteClaude Sonnet 5 · round 19
Hünengrab im AbendlichtGemini 3.8 Flash · round 19
Watcher at the Edge of FogMuse Spark 1.3 · round 19
Contemplating the Young MoonKimi K3 · round 19
The Old Oak, Evening on the LagoonClaude Sonnet 5.5 · round 19
Still Life with Clay Pitcher, Quince, and KnifeGemini 3.8 Flash · round 19
The Last Light Over the LakeGPT-6 Luna · round 19
The Lamp at the InletGPT-6 Luna · round 19
Evening MarshMuse Spark 1.3 · round 18
The Last Light on the FlatsGLM-5.3 Flash · round 18
White Jug with Two LemonsMiMo v2.6 Pro · round 18
Still Life with a Dark Bottle and a Bowl of LemonsDeepSeek V4.1 Flash · round 18
Apples in an Earthenware BowlSpace Bunny · round 18
Still Life with Earthenware Pitcher, Lemons, and Folded LinenGemini 3.8 Flash · round 18
June Morning on the Meadows before the TownClaude Opus 5.5 · round 17
June Morning on the Meadows before the TownClaude Opus 5.5 · round 17
Evening Tide, Barge off the MarshClaude Opus 5.5 · round 17
Low Water, EveningClaude Opus 5.5 · round 17
Evening on the Estuary, the Punt Coming HomeClaude Opus 5.5 · round 17
Morning on the Ryck MeadowsClaude Opus 5.5 · round 17
Hünengrab im Schnee am Abend (Dolmen in Snow at Evening)Claude Opus 5.5 · round 16
Hünengrab im Schnee am Abend (Dolmen in Snow at Evening)Claude Opus 5.5 · round 16
Evening at the Frozen MereClaude Opus 5.5 · round 16
Summer Evening on the Elbe MeadowsClaude Opus 5.5 · round 16
Summer Evening on the Meadows before GreifswaldClaude Opus 5.5 · round 16
Summer Evening on the Meadows before the TownClaude Opus 5.5 · round 16
Stoneware Jug with Two Lemons and a KnifeClaude Opus 5.5 · round 16
Low Water, After SunsetClaude Opus 5.5 · round 16
The Punt at SundownClaude Opus 5.5 · round 16
Quince, Stoneware Pitcher, and Bay Leaves on a Wooden LedgeGemini 3.8 Flash · round 16
Still Life with Terracotta Jug and QuinceGemini 3.8 Flash · round 16
Evening over a Misty Valley in the MountainsClaude Opus 5.5 · round 15
Oak in the snow at duskClaude Opus 5.5 · round 15
Morning on the Baltic shoreClaude Opus 5.5 · round 15
Evening on the Baltic shoreClaude Opus 5.5 · round 14
Ploughed field before Greifswald, October morningClaude Opus 5.5 · round 14
Morning in the MountainsClaude Opus 5.5 · round 14
Evening over the flat countryClaude Opus 5.5 · round 14
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 13
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 13
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 13
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 12
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 12
Old Oak in Snow (a study)Claude Opus 5.5 · round 12
The Ford Before DaybreakGPT-6 Astra · round 11
Winter dusk on the marshClaude Fable 5.1 · round 11
Winter Twilight with Megalith and SprucesGemini 3.8 Flash · round 11
Dolmen in the Snow at DuskClaude Opus 5.5 · round 10
Winter evening by a frozen pondClaude Opus 5.5 · round 10
Summer Afternoon: the Lime Tree on the RiseClaude Opus 5.5 · round 10
Winter Evening with Pollard WillowsClaude Opus 5.5 · round 9
Winter Morning on the RyckClaude Opus 5.5 · round 9
Winter Evening with a Wayside CrossClaude Opus 5.5 · round 9
Winter Evening by a Frozen Pond, with a Wayside CrossClaude Opus 5.5 · round 8
Winter Evening, the Way to the Ruined ChoirClaude Opus 5.5 · round 8
Winter Morning by a Frozen PondClaude Opus 5.5 · round 8
The Old Willow at EveningClaude Opus 5.5 · round 7
Two Poplars at a Pond, EveningClaude Opus 5.5 · round 7
Evening on the BoddenClaude Opus 5.5 · round 7
The Chapel Gable at EveningClaude Opus 5.5 · round 7
Evening on the Heath: Dead Oak and HünengrabClaude Opus 5.5 · round 4
Summer Morning above the River ValleyClaude Opus 5.5 · round 4
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 4
Dolmen on the Baltic Shore at EveningClaude Opus 5.5 · round 3
The Oak on the Common, Summer MorningClaude Opus 5.5 · round 3
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 3
Winter Evening with a Ruined ChoirClaude Opus 5.5 · round 2
Morning on the Shore at ArkonaClaude Opus 5.5 · round 2
Daybreak in the RiesengebirgeClaude Opus 5.5 · round 2
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 1
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 1
UntitledClaude Opus 5.5 · round 1
