WLWT: UC works with art museums to identify fakes and forgeries
Project uses latest science tools to study art in a new way
WLWT highlighted a novel collaboration between art museums and geologists, chemists and art historians at the University of Cincinnati to examine precious artworks using the latest scientific tools.
UC worked with the Taft Museum of Art to use tools such as Xray fluorescence spectroscopy to study the pigments in two paintings in the hopes of learning more about the masterpieces.
Art historian Christopher Platts in UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, and UC College of Arts and Sciences geologist Daniel Sturmer and chemists Pietro Strobbia and Lyndsay Kissell examined "Panel with the Crucifixion" and "Landscape with Canal" in Taft's collection.
The first was a painting on a wood panel in the style of Italian Renaissance artist Bernardo Daddi. UC's chemical analysis revealed more modern pigments in the painting.
UC's experts hoped to shed light on the landscape painting's suspicious signature. The painting was signed John Constable, but experts long have suspected the work was created by contemporary Frederick Waters Watts. UC's analysis was inconclusive.
UC researchers say these tools can help historians pin down the dates the artworks were created and potentially identify a fake or fraud. The Taft Museum of Art included the paintings in an exhibit titled Fakes, Forgeries and Followers in the Taft Collection that runs through Feb. 5.
UC geologist Daniel Sturmer uses XRF spectroscopy to study a painting in the style of Italian Renaissance master Bernardo Daddi in the conservation lab of the Taft Museum of Art. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Related Stories
What is a Master in Public Administration?
April 10, 2026
Whether you are freshly out of undergraduate school or already working in the public sector, the University of Cincinnati offers a Master in Public Administration for those looking to further pursue public policy, societal innovation or serve in the public, or private sector.
On the Green Dining Hall Earns National 4-Star Green Restaurant Certification
April 9, 2026
On the Green has earned a 4-Star Certified Green Restaurant designation from the Green Restaurant Association, achieving 365.5 GreenPoints for verified efforts in areas like waste reduction, water efficiency and sustainable food practices.
Long before machine guns, ancient Romans used this rapid-fire weapon
April 9, 2026
Smithsonian highlights research by UC Classics Professor Steven Ellis, who supervised archaeological work in the Porta Stabia neighborhood of Pompeii.