Computer-aided Image Acquisition and Colorimetric Analysis of Paintings

Abstract

In the context of archiving of fine art paintings, we have developed various techniques for the computer-aided digital acquisition, processing and analysis of high-quality and high-definition color images. After a short review of existing systems, we present our approach to this problem. After a general set-up and calibration, a digital image of the painting is captured using an electronic camera. The image is then corrected for inhomogeneities of the illumination, misalignment of the three color channels and poor colorimetric quality due to the camera's non-colorimetric spectral sensitivities. The corrected digital image is thus quantified accurately by device-independent color components and can be analyzed colorimetrically, visualized faithfully on a calibrated display, reproduced on a high-quality printer and/or archived for further use. In the final part of this article, we demonstrate the use of such images for a colorimetric analysis of three oil paintings from different epochs.