Hanna Pirinen

Active JYU affiliations

Research interests

Multidisciplinary research of artworks is a topical question. In the art market, connoisseurs and art experts have traditionally evaluated the authenticity of artworks. However, this expertise is based on subjective opinion. Every art buyer faces the risk of buying a forgery. A more scientific approach to the analysis of an artwork’s authenticity would enlarge the art market even further and increase trust. This kind of scientific analysis of artworks is needed by museums, trusts, private collectors, art investors, auction houses and art dealers, as well by insurance companies, national and international police organizations and governments, customs offices and other protectors of cultural property. The co-operation between art historians and material technical experts has opened a wide perspective for investigation of the authenticity of artworks. The Research Centre for Art, RECENART, a research and commercialization project, has used various techniques of analysis utilizing chemistry, physics and optical analysis combined with art historical research. The RECENART project has already served customers from all over the world, and its mobile laboratory allows researchers to analyze works of art on-site. RECENART has already reached its goal, which was to establish a global research company for art analysis services. http://www.jyu.fi/recenart

Fields of science

Personal keywords

art history; multidisciplinary research of works of art; art forgeries; biographical research; church art and architecture; the Early Modern period; liturgy and church furnishings; iconography; art and politics

Projects as Team Member

Publications