Google and Prune Nourry Recreate Lost Studios of 19th-Century Women Sculptors Using AI

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Google Arts & Culture and artist Prune Nourry collaborated to digitally reconstruct the workspaces of overlooked 19th-century female sculptors, bringing their artistic legacies back into public view via immersive AI-driven 3D models.

Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, numerous talented women sculptors created influential art in Paris despite social and institutional barriers that limited their recognition. Historically marginalized in art history narratives, these women's active contributions were often overshadowed or erased, appearing mainly as muses rather than creators. To address this erasure, artist Prune Nourry partnered with Google Arts & Culture to honor 18 forgotten female sculptors through a unique initiative titled "Visionaries."

The project features monumental plaster portraits sculpted by Nourry, celebrating these pioneering artists' lives and work. To deepen public engagement, the collaboration included a documentary film directed by Vincent Lorca and a year-long research effort involving art historians who collected archival letters, journals, and photographs related to the sculptors. As few images of their actual studios survived, creative technologist Lynn Cherny at the Google Arts & Culture Lab employed Google's generative AI and image editing tools to digitally reconstruct the lost workspaces.

Using a custom tool built on Google Gemini technology, the team created immersive three-dimensional studio models based on archival photos. These virtual environments allow visitors to explore how sculptors like Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Jane Poupelet, and Camille Claudel lived and worked. The reconstructions include animated camera paths offering a detailed walkthrough experience, effectively resurrecting historically neglected creative spaces.

One poignant AI-generated sequence in the documentary illustrates how female students teaching alongside Antoine Bourdelle in archival photographs gradually fade away, symbolizing the historical invisibility imposed on women artists. This visual metaphor underscores the cultural and historical forces that contributed to their marginalization.

The "Visionaries" exhibition debuted on October 20, 2026, at the Petit Palais in Paris, running through January 30, 2027, coinciding with Art Basel Paris. The exhibition combines the physical plaster portraits with a digital film installation present in the museum galleries, complemented by an online behind-the-scenes trailer available on Google Arts & Culture.

This initiative is part of a broader effort by Google Arts & Culture to surface overlooked stories of women shaping global culture, complementing projects like "Surfacing Women in Smithsonian History," "Road to Equality," "Women in India: Unheard Stories," and retrospectives such as that of Artemisia Gentileschi. Through advanced AI technologies and thoughtful curation, the project restores the creative legacies of these women sculptors and challenges the historic erasure of their contributions.