GIS Applications for a New Approach to the Analysis of Panel Paintings

Abstract

A work of art, considered in its complexity and in its evolution over time, requires knowledge and thorough study in order to arrive at its correct interpretation, a prerequisite for any conservation and maintenance interventions. The evaluation of the preliminary information on the work of art and its analytical reading are closely interrelated to a careful and critical use of the technical and operational instruments defined in a comprehensive and focused methodological programme. Information technology and the integration of multidisciplinary knowledge lead to making even more powerful forms of support available for a phase of documentation, as a means of investigation and organisation of the information, followed by analysis and processing that implement the knowledge of the work of art. Instruments for the 3D surveys of the panels and software for processing and post-processing allow us to obtain digital models of the surveyed surfaces, which are implemented in the GIS environment. We take advantage of the advanced analytical and management capacities, normally applied to the territory, with a simple change of scale, allowing us to carry out detailed investigations on the painting, on the paint film and on the supporting panel. Quantitative evaluations of the metric/statistical type on the spatial distribution of the elements are flanked both by colourimetric analysis, vectorising the RGB components and extrapolating the useful information, and by graphic analysis of the iconographic composition and on the conservation status. We then process the three-dimensional data relative to the morphology of the panel, allowing the identification of any critical aspects or elements of deterioration, until reaching a geometrical comparison among subsequent acquisitions that allows us to identify any displacement due to modifications of the support. The application of the method also allows us to define a comparison between diverse sensing systems to verify their accuracy and effectiveness, in a perspective of programmed management of interventions that will optimise costs and benefits and predispose the elevation profiles to study the morphological evolution along particular lines of interest. The GIS application in a field which is so different from the usual context of usage provides innovative scenarios and various potentials of data analysis and processing.