New high-resolution IR-color reflectography scanner for painting diagnosis

Raffaella Fontana; Maria Chiara Gambino; Marinella Greco; Luciano Marras; Marzia Materazzi; Enrico Pampaloni; Luca Pezzati; Pasquale Poggi

doi:10.1117/12.501235

9 October 2003 New high-resolution IR-color reflectography scanner for painting diagnosis

Raffaella Fontana, Maria Chiara Gambino, Marinella Greco, Luciano Marras, Marzia Materazzi, Enrico Pampaloni, Luca Pezzati, Pasquale Poggi

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5146, Optical Metrology for Arts and Multimedia; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.501235
Event: Optical Metrology, 2003, Munich, Germany

Abstract

Infrared reflectography is a prominent optical technique for non-destructive diagnostics of paintings, which allows the visualisation of details hidden by the paint layers, because of their transparency characteristics to IR radiation. High-resolution reflectography was introduced around the end of the 80s by the Istituto Nazionale di Ottica Applicata, where a prototype of an innovative scanner device was developed. This technique was recently improved with the introduction of a new optical head, able to acquire simultaneously the reflectogram and the colour image, perfectly superimposing. The technical characteristics of the IR-colour scanner guarantee: a high spatial resolution (16 points/mm²), a high tonal dynamics (thousands of grey levels), a uniform lighting of the scanned area and the punctual superimposition of the colour and IR images. Moreover we can print distortion-free reflectograms, false-colour and colour images of paintings on a 1:1 scale. The quality of the acquired reflectogram is presently higher than that obtainable with any traditional detection system, like CCD or Vidicon cameras. The point-by-point comparison between the reflectogram and the colour image of the painting, along with digital processing of the recorded images, open new possibilities for the analysis of the reflectogram. Some examples of application to the study of ancient paintings are shown.

Citation Download Citation

Raffaella Fontana, Maria Chiara Gambino, Marinella Greco, Luciano Marras, Marzia Materazzi, Enrico Pampaloni, Luca Pezzati, and Pasquale Poggi "New high-resolution IR-color reflectography scanner for painting diagnosis", Proc. SPIE 5146, Optical Metrology for Arts and Multimedia, (9 October 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.501235

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available