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
Certain weather patterns can trigger migraines
June 8, 2026
Certain weather patterns really do trigger migraine headaches — and the incidence is more common in the Midwest. As WGN 9 in Chicago recently reported, researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have identified two specific weather patterns associated with an increased risk of headaches.
Nanofiber multidrug offers new strategy for glioblastoma
June 8, 2026
Science and medical outlets highlight multidrug nanofiber to treat glioblastoma developed by the University of Cincinnati and Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Ad spending ramps up in Senate race
June 8, 2026
Spectrum News turns to a University of Cincinnati political science professor to explain the national interest in the U.S. Senate campaign in Ohio.