Exhibition 00002 / Mark NicollThe Painted Century.
Fictional sixteenth-century sitters hold objects from the present: a phone, a games console, headphones. Eight AI-created portraits use oil-on-canvas effects to make the encounter feel quietly plausible.
The creatorMark Nicoll
Mark Nicoll creates AI-derived art. For Gold of the Nile, he developed portraits of Cleopatra, Anubis, Isis and Osiris with OpenAI image generation, combining Gustav Klimt-inspired ornament with a palette-knife impasto effect.
01 / AI-derived artworkMark Nicoll, 2026
- Created with
- OpenAI image generation
- Inspired by
- sixteenth-century European portraiture, with deliberately modern objects
- Technique
- Oil-on-canvas effect
A woman in a green dress holds a modern smartphone against a dark background. The solemn pose makes a familiar phone feel like a prized object from another century.
02 / AI-derived artworkMark Nicoll, 2026
- Created with
- OpenAI image generation
- Inspired by
- sixteenth-century European portraiture, with deliberately modern objects
- Technique
- Oil-on-canvas effect
A merchant in dark clothes with a vivid red sleeve holds a grey handheld games console. The Game Boy receives the same careful attention as the sitter’s rich fabric.
03 / AI-derived artworkMark Nicoll, 2026
- Created with
- OpenAI image generation
- Inspired by
- sixteenth-century European portraiture, with deliberately modern objects
- Technique
- Oil-on-canvas effect
An older sitter in historical dress holds a tablet showing a map. The tools of navigation change; the need to find one’s place remains.
04 / AI-derived artworkMark Nicoll, 2026
- Created with
- OpenAI image generation
- Inspired by
- sixteenth-century European portraiture, with deliberately modern objects
- Technique
- Oil-on-canvas effect
A young adult in historical dress holds modern over-ear headphones. A private listening world meets the public ceremony of a portrait.
05 / AI-derived artworkMark Nicoll, 2026
- Created with
- OpenAI image generation
- Inspired by
- sixteenth-century European portraiture, with deliberately modern objects
- Technique
- Oil-on-canvas effect
A woman in linen holds a wireless games controller above a textile in her lap. Craft and play meet in the same pair of hands.
06 / AI-derived artworkMark Nicoll, 2026
- Created with
- OpenAI image generation
- Inspired by
- sixteenth-century European portraiture, with deliberately modern objects
- Technique
- Oil-on-canvas effect
An older woman in layered black clothing and a pale cap holds a television remote. A modest household object takes on the weight of an heirloom.
07 / AI-derived artworkMark Nicoll, 2026
- Created with
- OpenAI image generation
- Inspired by
- sixteenth-century European portraiture, with deliberately modern objects
- Technique
- Oil-on-canvas effect
Two women in historical dress stand and sit by a stone window with an instant camera and a takeaway cup. The wide double portrait balances formal poses with everyday conveniences.
08 / AI-derived artworkMark Nicoll, 2026
- Created with
- OpenAI image generation
- Inspired by
- sixteenth-century European portraiture, with deliberately modern objects
- Technique
- Oil-on-canvas effect
Three musicians in historical dress gather behind a table with a synthesiser, a wireless microphone and a portable speaker. Modern instruments enter a quiet, old-world conversation.
Free to view, in 3D or here. TAG does not sell artwork: a shop button takes you to Mark Nicoll’s own shop, after a notice.
Enter the gallery ↗