"The reason Van Meijeren's forged 17th-century paintings were difficult to identify at the time was mainly because he discovered a special technique back then."
The appraisal expert explained to Chen Yiyang and Schaefer, "Van Meijeren found that a new material called Bakelite, discovered in the 20th century and originally used for manufacturing electrical devices, could be used to harden the paint after application.
This way, the whole painting appears on the surface to have a history of three hundred years."
"So, do we need to wait for the laboratory's results on the paint analysis?" Schaefer asked.
"Not necessarily."
The expert noticed Schaefer's impatience and continued, "Paintings that are many years old often have many cracks and dust on their surface.
But the cracks in forged paintings are artificially created, which differ significantly from naturally formed cracks."
The expert said this while beginning to carefully observe the painting with a magnifying glass.
