Chapter 8: Art-Science Reverie
Scientific analysis: electron microscope
“Connoisseurship takes experience and education,” Bob wrote. “It is necessary to differentiate genuine original paintings from later versions—collaborative efforts, studio copies, contemporary followers, later copies, and fakes.”
Marilyn Laver at the Canadian Conservation Institute had done the scientific analysis. Her 1982 CCI report was thorough—paint samples, cross-sections, pigment analysis. The evidence was building.
Science could prove a negative. But could it prove a positive? The answer depended on who was asking—and who was listening.
This is an excerpt. Read the full chapter in Art World’s Dirty Little Secret.