Digital detectives reveal art forgeries

A computer scientist practices a new kind of forensics: a statistical technique that gauges whether a photograph is computer generated (CG), or if a work of art is a forgery. So far, his computer algorithms have correctly identified five forgeries among 13 artists´ drawings and matched some human experts´ theories on the origins of a Renaissance oil painting. The detective saw visual elements in a work of art that would lend themselves to a mathematical technique called wavelet analysis. Wavelets can break down a picture into vertical, horizontal, and diagonal elements on large and small scales. Statistical algorithms can then detect a pattern in those elements $an image´s unique signature.