The study of the artworks of the Old Masters has long been the prerogative of art historians alone. Expertise and other art-historical methods can now make much greater use than ever before of the findings of the so-called exact sciences. These make it possible to acquire new knowledge about works of art of the past that is not obvious to our eyes. Imaging and instrumental methods for the study of works of art often allow us to literally "look into the painting", below the surface of what we see, and observe the work in different areas of the invisible spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, for example. |