Beyond being the backbone of Bitcoin and altcoins, blockchain technology has gained recognition for its applications in the creative industries, protecting against many risks and pitfalls art creators and owners face. Among its main advantages are guaranteed transparency in ownership and sales, copyright, and proof of the provenance of works.
The art market is witnessing a shift from the imbalance of fine art ownership, traditionally the prerogative of wealthy collectors or institutions, to fractional ownership benefiting members of the public. Raphael Coin (RAPH) on the Gleec blockchain is one example of a project contributing to this monumental shift. Gleec has introduced fractional ownership of Renaissance master Raphael's rediscovered work, "Recto: Study for the Battle of the Milvian Bridge," to democratize access to fine art, allowing investors and collectors alike to enter high-value art markets previously reserved for the elite.
The story of the creator and the rediscovery of his masterpiece
Raphael worked in the Vatican Stanze from 1508 until his death in 1520, playing a pivotal role in the decoration. His most ambitious project was Sala di Costantino, a spacious reception hall featuring frescoes of key moments in the life of Emperor Constantine, including the famous "Battle of the Milvian Bridge." The fresco, a highlight of the collection, depicted the emperor's victory over Maxentius, an event that symbolized Christianity's triumph over paganism.
The highly ambitious composition features a complex array of horses, figures, and dynamic elements reflecting Raphael's storytelling mastery. His preparatory studies reflect his painstaking approach to movement, anatomy, and emotion, with surviving sketches showcasing his focus on the gestures and expressions of soldiers in battle.
In 2023, Dorotheum auction house in Vienna identified "Recto: Study for the Battle of the Milvian Bridge" as a late drawing by Raphael, estimating its value at €400,000-600,000. There were drawings by Polidoro da Caravaggio, Raphael's assistant, on the back of the sheet. Paul Joannides, an emeritus professor of art history at Cambridge University, endorsed the attributions to Raphael and his assistant. Based on compositional and stylistic details, specialists with the auction house confirmed it was a preparatory study by Raphael for the celebrated fresco.
RAPH offers liquid ownership of a Renaissance masterpiece
While RAPH is not the only token offering fractional ownership in art, it stands out by offering ownership of a culturally significant, rediscovered, and authenticated Renaissance masterpiece, combined with Gleec's secure blockchain and institutional-grade custody of the physical work. The digitally fractionalized ownership of the artwork enables broad public participation in its cultural and financial value, creating a sustainable model for art stewardship and preservation.
Gleec's blockchain uses a delayed Proof-of-Work consensus model, supporting transparent and secure management of the artwork's ownership. Holders of RAPH tokens, which can be traded on Gleec and Mandala crypto exchanges, gain access to provenance, value, and potential returns from ventures such as licensing.
Raphael Coin is an open, compliant alternative that deepens connections to fine art as museums face budget constraints and private collections remain exclusive, giving the public a stake in cultural assets and setting a precedent for shared guardianship models.
Blockchain empowers creators and collectors
While RAPH presents a compelling example of a way to guarantee asset ownership, blockchain's advantages in the arts go beyond that. Smaller artists are empowered to challenge the dominance of large auction houses and art galleries. The number of intermediaries in sales transactions makes it quite challenging for creators to reach their audiences, and this increases the cost of their works.
Blockchain applications and smart contracts can restore control over works, allowing creators to display or sell their products both at a profit and in a secure environment. Blockchain creates interlinked online marketplaces where creators can buy more affordable materials and tools. It can maintain collectors' anonymity yet provide public data about their artworks.
The problem of counterfeit art solved
Blockchain technology can track the complete journey of an artwork or any valuable object from its origin to its final destination as it stores all data related to the object, including studies, sales, appraisals, analyses, and more. This reduces illegal trafficking of cultural property and eliminates the problem of counterfeiting.
Digital art receives the recognition it deserves
Blockchain facilitates the work of creators who integrate digital elements or utilize computer algorithms to create their artwork. It has given rise to decentralized and autonomous online markets that operate through smart contacts. Buying and selling art has not only become faster but also cheaper as blockchain transactions don't involve banks or any transfer fees they charge.
A solid guarantee for intellectual property
Blockchain enables the permanent storage of intellectual property in the cloud and its management, regardless of time and location. Like many of the advantages of blockchain, this one transcends the realm of art. Berklee College of Music has long encouraged greater transparency in the music industry, where artists have more control over their data, music, and careers.
The main goal of the college's Open Music Initiative (OMI) was to fix music metadata transfer (the details of an artist's work, including songwriters, musicians, labels, producers, and publishers) in order to ensure that the right people would receive payment and credit when a song was played.
Sadly, the music industry's lack of standardized protocols for royalty allocation and copyright attribution resulted in a tangled mess of mediators, rules, and licensing deals, leading to erroneous royalty statements and millions in misallocated or lost royalties, leaving the real artists behind the music underpaid or unpaid.
OMI saw an industry-wide framework connecting artists to their works through a network of ledgers as a possible solution. RAIDAR, Berklee's licensing platform, was a network that put the initiative's technical principles into practice. It was developed using Intel's blockchain technology, designed in collaboration with MIT Connection Technology, and allows any musician to license their works irrespective of their affiliation with Berklee.
