Dalla conoscenza dei materiali all’autenticazione delle opere

Gathered together in this paper are some considerations relating to the fundamental contribution of scientific investigation in the authentication of works of art and of paintings, in particular. The importance of an in-depth knowledge of artistic techniques in addition to suitable instrumentation is also emphasised. Taking into account the numerous case studies reported in the scientific literature, it will be important to collect all the information in an ad-hoc database, to be shared between the laboratories involved in authentication procedures.