3D scanning for contactless analysis of works of art
Painting is a significant part of the cultural heritage of mankind. Each of the canvases has its own composition. It can be painted in oil on canvas, pencil on cardboard, gouache on plywood, pastel on sandpaper. In any case, each of these objects is a complex arrangement of materials that are subject to environmental changes.
A non-invasive, non-contact method is needed to monitor the condition. Since works of art have high historical and cultural value, it is critically important to limit the physical impact on their surface. It is advisable to detect changes at the micro level before they become visually noticeable. This will help to avoid further destruction and identify the most suitable conditions in which the paintings should be stored, transported or put on display. 3D scanning was used to carry out the complex of necessary studies.
Today, 3D scanning is used for high-precision measurements in industrial production, medicine, criminology, and now in the field of cultural heritage preservation. Modern 3D scanners allow you to obtain information about the geometry of the surface with a high degree of accuracy: from tens to hundreds of micrometers. This is quite enough to recognize changes in the condition of the canvases. The work carried out helped us to verify this in practice.
The objects of research by Anton Zhuravlev, an engineer at the Prototyping Center, and colleagues from SBGETU LETI were oil paintings. For example, one of them, from the collection of the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Communications Troops of St. Petersburg, was studied using a RangeVision PRO 3D scanner. The scan was performed with an interval of 4.5 years to compare two versions of 3D models of the same work. The software made it possible to combine the two models and, as a result of the overlap, a visualization of the change in the state of the canvas was obtained. This is shown in Figure 1.
Illustration 1: Visualization of changes in two 3D models of the canvas of the painting
Illustration 2: Visualization of the changes of two 3D models of the wooden frame of the painting
The differences in the surface condition of the painting are highlighted in colors. Two large areas of blue are particularly noticeable: at this point, the surface of the painting has become more prominent than before. The maximum standard deviation recorded in 2014 and 2019 is approximately 200 µm.
The experiment in practice confirmed the prospects of using optical 3D scanning to monitor the condition of oil paintings. This method helps to obtain quantitative information about the deformation of the canvas, frame and the surface of the canvas itself during storage under the influence of environmental conditions.
The technology has already been appreciated by the largest museums in the world. For example, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York actively uses its experience in the field of contactless analysis of paintings. A number of Russian museums have become interested in the work of the Prototyping Center's engineers, one of whose key tasks is to preserve cultural heritage sites for future generations.
Source:3dtoday
