This drawing of an Alpine landscape was until recently attributed to the Renaissance-era artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder of the Netherlands, who lived from 1525 until 1569. In 1991, art historians began to suspect the work was not authentic because its watermark has been associated with papers not documented before the mid-1580s.

Published: February 09, 2010

by Joe Palca

Determining what is real and what is fake has long been a problem for art curators. It is estimated that 20 percent of the worldwide art market is made up of forgeries. But art lover and Dartmouth College mathematics department Chairman Daniel Rockmore has developed a technique that is helping to determine the difference between excellent copy and the real McCoy.

"I joke a lot that I am a mathematician by mistake," says Rockmore. "It was something that I had an aptitude at, but I've always had lots of interests."

One thing Rockmore is particularly interested in is art. And a few years ago, his professional skills and personal interest collided.

The Juncture Of Math And Art

In 2001, through a friend, Rockmore met Nadine Orenstein, a curator of prints and drawings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. At the time, Orenstein was working on an exhibition of the work of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, a Flemish painter from the 16th century. She invited Rockmore to the museum to see the show.

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