Scientific Publishing The Scientist and the Forger: Probing A Turbulent Art World (Popular Science): Probing a Turbulent Art World: 2nd Edition

There is a richness in details from a selection of cases, and the author is a good story‐teller. The book has an important educational role in the professional authentication of art the book includes a discussion of the most pressing problems today and indicates a possible future development. ‐ Prof Bengt Norden, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Art forgeries is an industry that is growing in size with the increasing value of fine art. Jehane Ragai's new book is highly recommended for those who want an insight into this obscure fascinating field. ‐ Krister Homberg, Former President of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences, Gothenburg Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences This is a book that explores both chemistry and chicanery, the pleasures and pitfalls of collecting, and perhaps most interestingly, the psychology of lying, self-deception, and discovery... Whatever the reader's involvement or perspective on recent events and controversies, the stories recounted here so artfully, along with the scientific techniques explained with such clarity and care, together make for a terrific read. - Professor Robert Switzer, The American University in Cairo In The Scientist and the Forger: Probing a Turbulent Art World the author draws upon an enthralling range of case studies, from Boticelli to Leonardo, Campendonk to Pollock and Chagall to Freud, equipping the reader with a holistic understanding of an art world shaped by fast-moving trends, and increasingly permeated by science. We are taken on a gripping journey, becoming witness to the attempts currently being made to safeguard a partly complicit art market virtually under siege. How can we determine whether it was Leonardo's hand that created Salvador Mundi? How can we prove that a suspected Pollock is a forgery? And how can Man in a Black Cravat be seemingly incontrovertibly attributed to Lucien Freud, despite this artist's adamant refusal to recognise it as one of his own? This book reveals how art historians and scientists collaborate conclusively to authenticate paintings or demonstrate that they are forgeries, and as the enigma of La Bella Principessa continues to baffle, the question remains: do we have enough reason to hope that we shall one day know her true story? Building on the first edition, a more in depth look is taken at some of the greatest scandals to date with an interpretation of the psychological behaviour of Ann Freedman the former president and director of the Knoedler Gallery.