Detecting Forgeries - Digitally

An online article in the New Scientist reports that computer scientists at Dartmouth College, Newhaven, have developed a computer program which can tell distinguish genuine art from fakes. Digital photographs of artwork are processed by computer software which looks for statistical patterns in the digital image, based on the pressure, orientation or length of the brush stroke and the evenness of the paint. The tool is sure to be of interest to art historians, who can use it to check their analysis of artwork, identifying the master's or apprentice's hand in a painting, and confirming the authorship of disputed works.