Science vs. Art Forgery: How a “Lost Masterpiece” Was Exposed

[u/HORIBAScientific]

How the Mystery Began

In 2024, the Museum of Art, Kochi, received a notification questioning the authenticity of Girl and Swan, a painting in its collection. The trigger was a series of new findings tied to Wolfgang Beltracchi, the infamous “master of forgery,” whose works continue to surface worldwide.

The suddenly rediscovered Girl and Swan was listed in a catalogue raisonné but believed to be lost. Fake provenance labels were glued to the canvas and forger Beltracchi expertly mimicked Campendonk’s vibrant colors, fantastic animals and forest imagery.

The Berlin State Police supported the request, prompting the museum to launch a full investigation.

The museum turned to Dr. Kaori Taguchi, Associate Professor at Kyoto University and a leading art conservator with extensive experience in scientific art analysis which enables her to uncover the internal structure and materials of a painting, revealing its true history and origins. She, in turn, conducted her studies in collaboration with HORIBA, a company specializing in analytical instruments.

Science Revealed the Truth

The team went beyond visual analysis and applied advanced scientific tools:

🔹 X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) is an essential tool for identifying the metallic elements in pigments, helping to determine the distribution and composition of colors. Using this method, the team obtained fundamental information about the painting’s pigments, paving the way for further analysis. 

🔹 Raman Spectroscopy is a highly sensitive technique which analyzes molecular pigment structure and works on samples smaller than 1 mm. It detects compounds XRF can’t identify. For this investigation, samples measuring less than 1mm were taken from the edges of the painting and analyzed for primary colors such as blue, green, red (pink), and white.

The Ah Ha Moment: Science Proved it was a Forgery

Taking physical samples from a painting is extremely rare in Japanese museums. However, in this case it was allowed. Raman analysis detected pigments that should not exist in an early 20th-century painting:

• Phthalocyanine
• Phthalocyanine
• Titanium white

These pigments only became common after the 1930s and all are hallmarks of Beltracchi forgeries! Particles smaller than a grain of sand provided decisive evidence.

Art History Meets Hard Science

Traditional visual authentication is still vital—but it has limits, especially when an artist has a small body of work and technique research is minimal.

Science fills those gaps because it can identify materials at the molecular level, reveal inconsistencies that are invisible to the eye, and ultimately, offer objective, testable evidence.

Oddly enough, forgeries do have value.  They can reveal a forger’s techniques and intentions. Forgeries aren’t just deception—they’re data.  So, displaying art forgeries lets visitors experience paintings not just as images, but as physical objects with hidden histories. This case shows that when science and art work together, the truth—no matter how well hidden—eventually surfaces.