Digital edge in validating art

"DID you watch the movie 'The Monuments Men'? asks Professor John F Asmus midway through his interview. Well, it turns out that the character whom George Clooney played in the movie was instrumental in converting one of America's top research physicists to art conservation.

That would be George Stout, who besides saving many of the masterpieces in the Western art world in World War II, also played a role in determining Prof Asmus's career path, and opened new doors for art conservation today. Prof Asmus has pioneered laser techniques in restoring paintings and sculptures, and also using lasers to identify the "digital fingerprint" of artists - thus being able to test authenticity of works.

He's one of the experts behind the verification of the Earlier Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vinci, one that was done about a decade before he painted the portrait now held and exhibited at the Louvre in Paris.