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| Best Practices: Art: Caveat Collector |
Digital Detector
Michelle Leder
03/01/2007
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Two scientists at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands are developing software that may prove a
more accessible weapon in the fight against forgeries. Named "Authentic," the
software analyzes the unique characteristics of a particular
artist—brushstrokes, colors and canvas, for example—to form a fingerprint. The
application can then compare that fingerprint to other works for authentication.
Four years ago, a computer science PhD student and his professor began the
project by looking at 195 high-resolution digital scans of Van Gogh paintings,
including eight known forgeries, to build their database. Today, professor Eric
Postma, who advised Igor Berezhnoy on the project, says that the pair is in the
process of expanding the software to cover additional artists. They hope to
eventually commercialize the product by forming a small company, but admit that
they find it difficult to convince art experts that a piece of software can help
them do their jobs more effectively. "We don’t really see this as replacing the
art expert," Postma says. "It is really supporting the art expert." Even with
powerful technology, he concedes, it may only be a matter of time before forgers
catch up. "Once the computer can detect a fake from an authentic piece of art,
someone will be able to create a new way to get around the computer," he says.  Back
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