Art Fraudsters Beware: Science Has Found a Way to Tell a Fake Van Gogh From a Real One

Art Fraudsters Beware: Science Has Found a Way to Tell a Fake Van Gogh from a Real One

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New 3D technology can detect forged artwork

(Photo by Clem Onojeghuo via Pexels) By Stephen Beech Forged paintings can be identified using a new noninvasive technique. The new method offers museums, collectors and auction houses a major advantage in tackling soaring art fraud, French scientists say. Art fraud and forgery are among the world's highest-grossing illegal trades. Experts say the urgency for better authentication tools has never been clearer after AI technology recently identif…

French Scientists Have Developed a New Technology To Help Identify Forged Artworks

A group of scientists at the Polytechnic University of Hauts-de-France in Valenciennes have published a study introducing a newly developed method that they say will help authenticate artworks—and identify potential forgeries. The report was published in the June 2026 issue of Surface Topography: Metrology and Properties, a peer-reviewed journal that focuses on cross-disciplinary research involving physics, chemistry, materials science, and engi…

New scientific method can now tell real Van Goghs from fakes

A new study published in the peer reviewed journal Surface Topography: Metrology and Properties introduces a pioneering, non‑invasive technique that can distinguish authentic artworks from forgeries, offering museums, collectors and auction houses a major advantage in tackling art fraud. The study, developed at the Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France introduces a method that analyses the microscopic “texture” of a painting by converting hig…

Scientists Think They've Found a New Way to Spot Fake Van Goghs

“By analyzing the surfaces of eight Vincent van Gogh paintings, surface metrology indeed confirmed the veracity of one long-contested but recently confirmed Van Gogh specimen — and correctly flagged another that’s been debunked.” – Artnet