What is it like to work as a painting authenticator?

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Sometimes it will be immediately clear from looking at a client's painting whether it is a fake; but if not Maza will shine UV light on to the work, take a photo of it with an infrared camera or even X-ray it to see what lies beneath its surface. open image in gallery Painting authenticator Dr Elize Maza As well as using scientific clues to put the puzzle pieces together, the "art detective" travels to museums across Europe to find historical examples of the paintings in question. "Once you do actually find a real work, it's pretty amazing to think that you were handling it and got to play around with it," she says. As for people who say "I could have done that" when they see contemporary art, Maza says it's not that simple: "There are a lot of different factors involved in one single painting.