Empirical mode decomposition analysis for visual stylometry

In this paper, we show how the tools of empirical mode decomposition (EMD) analysis can be applied to the problem of “visual stylometry,” generally defined as the development of quantitative tools for the measurement and comparisons of individual style in the visual arts. In particular, we introduce a new form of EMD analysis for images and show that it is possible to use its output as the basis for the construction of effective support vector machine (SVM)-based stylometric classifiers. We present the methodology and then test it on collections of two sets of digital captures of drawings: a set of authentic and well-known imitations of works attributed to the great Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569) and a set of works attributed to Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and his pupils. Our positive results indicate that EMD-based methods may hold promise generally as a technique for visual stylometry.