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Arts & Culture

NOVA: Mystery Of A Masterpiece

Close up of Leo Stevenson recreating Monet's "Haystacks" painting.
Courtesy of National Geographic Television
Close up of Leo Stevenson recreating Monet's "Haystacks" painting.

Airs Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV

Photo of "La Bella Principessa."
Courtesy of Pascal Cotte
Photo of "La Bella Principessa."

Explore the science behind the headlines in PBS’ premier science series. With compelling stories and spectacular visuals, NOVA programs demystify science and technology for viewers of all ages and spotlight people involved in scientific pursuits.

"Mystery Of A Masterpiece" - In October 2007, a striking portrait of a young woman in Renaissance dress made world news headlines. Originally sold two years before for around $20,000, the portrait is now thought to be an undiscovered Leonardo da Vinci masterwork worth more than $100 million. How did cutting-edge imaging analysis help tie the portrait to Leonardo?

NOVA meets a new breed of experts who are approaching “cold case” art mysteries as if they were crime scenes, determined to discover “who committed the art,” and follows art sleuths as they deploy new techniques to combat the multi-billion dollar criminal market in stolen and fraudulent art.

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This episode originally aired in 2012.

Past episodes of NOVA are available for online viewing. NOVA is on Facebook, and you can follow @novapbs on Twitter.