Carbon dating uncovers forged Cubist painting

Physicists use carbon dating to confirm alleged Fernand Léger painting was definitely a fake

2014-02-25

(Press-News.org) Choosing the right physical technique to analyse paintings can make all the difference when it comes to ascertaining their authenticity. Now, a painting initially attributed as belonging to a series called 'Contraste de formes' by French Cubist painter Fernand Léger has definitely been identified as a forgery. This is the first time it has been possible to identify a fake painting by relying on the anomalous behaviour of the concentration of the radioactive form of carbon (14C) in the atmosphere after 1955 to date the canvas. These findings were recently published in EPJ Plus by Mariaelenea Fedi of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) in Florence, Italy, and colleagues. Previously, art historians had called upon scientists to compare the alleged Léger painting from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, in Venice, Italy, with an authentic painting of the 'Contraste de formes' series belonging to the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation in New York, USA. They performed tests based on techniques including X-ray radiography and scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive X-Ray spectrometry. Though they demonstrated that the fibres in the canvases differed and that different pigments were used in the two paintings, they did not arrive at conclusive evidence. This study shows that it was necessary to perform an analysis using accelerator mass spectrometry of a sample of the canvas to conclusively date the painting. This approach definitely proved that the canvas sample contains a level of radioactive carbon found in 1959, years after Léger's death in 1955. The authors relied on the particularities of 14C concentration in the atmosphere, which are well-known for the period ranging from the mid-1950s to the present. They are referred to as the Bomb Peak, due to the atmospheric nuclear power tests.

INFORMATION: Reference:

L. Caforio, M.E. Fedi, P.A. Mando, F. Minarelli, E. Peccenini, V. Pellicori, F.C. Petrucci, P. Schwartzbaum, and F. Taccetti (2014), Discovering forgeries of modern art by the 14C Bomb Peak, European Physical Journal Plus, DOI 10.1140/epjp/i2014-14006-6

For more information visit: http://www.epj.org

The full-text article is available to journalists on request.

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study finds 2 biodegradable mulches to be suitable polyethylene alternatives

2014-02-25

MOUNT VERNON, WA--Polyethylene plastic mulch offers a range of benefits and has become standard for growers of a variety of agricultural and horticultural crops. Despite the recognized benefits, the plastic mulches have serious drawbacks. For example, plastic mulches can typically be used for only one cropping season, after which they must be removed and disposed of, creating expensive and time-consuming processes for growers. The challenges and costs associated with recycling mean that plastic mulches often end up in landfills, buried, or burned on-site--practices that ...

Scientists demonstrate first contagious airborne WiFi virus

2014-02-25

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have shown for the first time that WiFi networks can be infected with a virus that can move through densely populated areas as efficiently as the common cold spreads between humans. The team designed and simulated an attack by a virus, called "Chameleon", and found that not only could it spread quickly between homes and businesses, but it was able to avoid detection and identify the points at which WiFi access is least protected by encryption and passwords. Researchers from the University's School of Computer Science and Electrical ...

Study uncovers why almost winning is just as good for some gamblers

2014-02-25

A new study led by the University of Exeter and Swansea University has pinpointed the changes in the brain that lead gamblers to react in the same way to near-misses as they do to winning. The research shows that near-misses are underpinned by increases in the brain's electrical activity, particularly in the theta frequency range - known to be involved in processing win and loss outcomes. They found that these increases in theta are linked to both how severe someone's gambling history is and how susceptible they might be to developing a future gambling problem. Popular ...

Saudi Arabian camels carry MERS virus

2014-02-25

An estimated three-quarters of camels recently surveyed in Saudi Arabia have evidence of infection with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the virus responsible for human cases of MERS. Results of the new study establish for the first time that direct camel-to-human transmission is possible and provide a pathway to control the spread of the disease. Results in the journal mBio are reported by scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health; Mammals Research Chair, King Saud University, ...

Novel optical fibers transmit high-quality images

2014-02-25

MILWAUKEE – After having recently discovered a new way to propagate multiple beams of light through a single strand of optical fiber, engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) now have found that their novel fiber architecture can transmit images with a quality that is comparable or better than the current commercial endoscopy imaging fibers. Because of this, the work has potential not only in next-generation high-speed communication, but also biomedical imaging. The work is published today in the journal Nature Communications. In conventional optical ...

Mood and food: The better your mood, the better you eat

2014-02-25

Previous research has found that emotions affect eating, and that negative moods and positive moods may actually lead to preferences for different kinds of foods. For example, if given the choice between grapes or chocolate candies, someone in a good mood may choose the former while someone in a bad mood may choose the latter. The research reported in this article looks at the "why:" Why, when someone is in a bad mood, will they choose to eat junk food and why, when someone is in a good mood, will they make healthier food choices? To get at the "why," we married the ...

Use of acetaminophen during pregnancy linked to ADHD in children, UCLA researchers say

2014-02-25

Acetaminophen, found in over-the-counter products such as Excedrin and Tylenol, provides many people with relief from headaches and sore muscles. When used appropriately, it is considered mostly harmless. Over recent decades, the drug, which has been marketed since the 1950s, has become the medication most commonly used by pregnant women for fevers and pain. Now, a long-term study by UCLA, in collaboration with the University of Aarhus in Denmark, has raised concerns about the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy. In a report in the current online edition of ...

Building a better mouse model to understand pancreatic cancer

2014-02-25

(SALT LAKE CITY)—Cancer of the pancreas is usually not detected until it's too late to cure. But precursor lesions that form in the pancreas and its ducts can signal the disease before it strikes, and when caught early enough, they can be prevented from progressing to become cancer. In a new study, researchers led by a molecular biologist at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), report two breakthroughs in understanding those lesions and their role in pancreatic cancer: the development of the first mouse model that simulates a precursor lesion called intraductal ...

Water is detected in a planet outside our solar system

2014-02-25

Water has been detected in the atmosphere of a planet outside our solar system with a new technique that could help researchers to learn how many planets with water, like Earth, exist throughout the universe. The team of scientists that made the discovery includes astronomers at Penn State University and other institutions. The astronomers detected the water in the atmosphere of a planet as massive as Jupiter that is orbiting the nearby star tau Boötis. The discovery is described in a scientific paper published in the 24 February 2014 online version of The Astrophysical ...

New blood test could detect heart attacks more quickly

2014-02-25

MAYWOOD, Ill. – A new blood test can detect heart attacks hours faster than the current gold-standard blood test, according to a study led by Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researchers. The new test measures a protein that is released to the bloodstream by dying heart muscle. The protein is called cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C). The study found that cMyBP-C is released to the blood within just 15 minutes of cardiac damage, and rises to significant levels in three hours. "This is a potential ultra-early biomarker that could confirm whether ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

HKU Engineering scholar demonstrates the smallest all-printed infrared photodetectors to date

Precision empowerment for brain "eavesdropping": CAS team develops triple-electrode integrated functional electrode for simultaneous monitoring of neural signals and chemical transmitters during sleep

Single-capillary endothelial dysfunction resolved by optoacoustic mesoscopy

HKU three research projects named among ‘Top 10 Innovation & Technology News in Hong Kong 2025’ showcasing excellence in research and technology transfer

On-demand upgraded recycling of polyethylene and construction of sustainable multifunctional materials based on the "LEGO" strategy

January 2026 issues of APA journals feature new research on autism, pediatric anxiety, psychedelic therapy, suicide prevention and more

Private equity acquired more than 500 autism centers over the past decade, new study shows

New cervical cancer screening guidelines from the US Department of Health and Human Services

Estimated burden of COVID-19 illnesses, medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths in the US from October 2022 to September 2024

[Press-News.org] Carbon dating uncovers forged Cubist painting
Physicists use carbon dating to confirm alleged Fernand Léger painting was definitely a fake