Researchers Devise “DNA Profiles” for Bronze Sculptures

Published: August 27, 2009

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EVANSTON, Ill.—Researchers at Northwestern University and the Art Institute of Chicago have come up with a method that could answer key questions about works in the museum's collection, such as when, where, and how a Picasso or Matisse bronze sculpture was cast.

Studying 62 sculptures in the collections at the Art Institute and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the researchers completed the first comprehensive survey of the alloy composition of a large number of cast bronze sculptures. The works are by major European artists from the first half of the 20th century, including Matisse, Picasso, Renoir, and Rodin. The researchers classified the unique composition profiles of the sculptures by linking data from their alloy composition with such details as artist, foundry, casting methods, and casting date. The profiles, where a sculpture’s metal composition is like DNA’s genetic information, could be used to help identify, date, and even authenticate artworks, the researchers wrote in their study, published online in the journal Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry.

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