Getty Paints

The Getty Conservation Institute in California contains some of the world's most intriguing paintings - and behind each haunting image lie a mystery.

Prior to the late 19th century, artists had to make their own paints by grinding the pigments and mixing the mediums - it was an incredibly labor intensive process. Old master paints would have been made with natural products, such as eggs, milk, oil, or plant gums. Some of the paintings are analyzed of giant easels while others are interpreted on a microscopic scale. Some are even x-rayed to discover what, if anything, lies below the surface.

Mark Leonard, Department Head at the Getty Museum, states, "Our job is to figure out how the picture was made, is it really what it purports to be, and then what happened in the course of its life. You can unravel a lot of a picture's secrets and mysteries through good scientific analysis."

Researchers at the Getty are aiming to improve chemical analysis and better understand the properties and characteristics of modern paints. "We really consider ourselves detectives. You become more and more familiar with the work of art, and you begin to understand the materials that were used and how those materials were put together," adds Karen Trentelman, Senior Scientist at the Getty Conservation Institute.