Picasso bronzes tracked back to Parisian foundry

Researchers from Northwestern University in Massachusetts and the Musée national Picasso in Paris have traced five of Pablo Picasso’s sculptures to second world war foundry in Paris. They revealed their findings at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Austin, Texas on 17 February. The international team of scientists, art conservators and museum curators used portable instruments and a comprehensive database of alloy ‘fingerprints’ to analyse 39 of Picasso’s bronze pieces that were cast between 1905 and 1959.