Caption

Art history laboratory. Art historian comparing an original painting (left) with its appearance after analysis (right). Standard forensic art analysis includes techniques like X-ray scans and infrared reflectology. The results allow art historians to trace the stages in the composition of a painting, as well as revealing traces of earlier artworks, hidden below the final painting. The techniques are also used to detect fraudulent copies of paintings. Photographed in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.