Attributions are central questions in art history. Since the
introduction of new examination methods such as radiography, infrared
photography and reflectography, conventional art history has undergone
major changes. Technical examinations can provide additional arguments
for attributing works of art to individual artists or their workshops.
However, technical studies often also reveal complex working methods,
while new scientific imagery sometimes challenges accepted attributions
and instigates reconsiderations of traditional attributions. The XIXth
symposium for the Study of Underdrawing and Technology in Painting which
was held in Bruges on 11-13 September 2014 was dedicated to technical
studies of paintings: problems of attribution (15th-17th centuries). It
focussed on the various ways in which technical studies can provide
answers to the often complex issue of attribution and will discuss the
challenges that art historians face in proposing conclusive theories.

This book captures the variety of twenty-four papers
presented at the symposium.