The Mysterious Box: Nuclear Science and Art

Forgers have always been one step ahead of art historians. Until nuclear scientists joined the hunt. This book reveals how radioactivity became the ultimate detective in the art world. Nuclear decay rates do not lie: a canvas painted in the 1500s contains carbon-14 at levels impossible to fake, while modern pigments tell their own story through trace radioactive elements. Bernard Keisch, a physicist who pioneered these techniques, takes readers inside the laboratories where accelerators and detectors separate centuries-old masters from clever counterfeits. The stakes are enormous. Forged Old Masters have sold for millions, duping collectors, museums, and experts alike. Yet the same science that catches crooks also rewrites history: paintings once dismissed as copies have been proven authentic, and attributions long accepted have crumbled under scientific scrutiny. For anyone curious about what happens when physics meets aesthetics, this is a fascinating window into how modern science is rewriting art history.