Imaging Science in Art Conservation

Abstract

AbstractMuseum professionals regularly apply a variety of imaging technologies to artistic and historic objects. The particular imaging technique applied is determined in part by the intended use of the image. Ordinary photography, for example, is used to illustrate the approximate appearance of objects in a museum collection, and optical microscopy is commonly used to identify pigments in an oil painting. The choice of an imaging technique is also influenced by the anatomic structure of the object. For example, traditional drying oils used as vehicles and varnishes in oil paintings fluoresce more strongly as they age. Thus, a photograph taken under ultraviolet illumination is often used to reveal and document discontinuities between original and restored or altered regions of a painting. On occasion, imaging techniques of this kind have been used to uncover fakes and forgeries, but such applications of imaging to museum studies are rare. By far, the most important use of imaging technologies is to archive information about the object and to extract information about the structure of the object. Archiving preserves information and makes information more readily available to scholars, and structural analysis provides guidance to museum professionals in conserving and restoring objects. This article reviews imaging techniques intended for these two purposes.Museum professionals regularly apply a variety of imaging technologies to artistic and historic objects. The particular imaging technique applied is determined in part by the intended use of the image. Ordinary photography, for example, is used to illustrate the approximate appearance of objects in a museum collection, and optical microscopy is commonly used to identify pigments in an oil painting. The choice of an imaging technique is also influenced by the anatomic structure of the object. For example, traditional drying oils used as vehicles and varnishes in oil paintings fluoresce more strongly as they age. Thus, a photograph taken under ultraviolet illumination is often used to reveal and document discontinuities between original and restored or altered regions of a painting. On occasion, imaging techniques of this kind have been used to uncover fakes and forgeries, but such applications of imaging to museum studies are rare. By far, the most important use of imaging technologies is to archive information about the object and to extract information about the structure of the object. Archiving preserves information and makes information more readily available to scholars, and structural analysis provides guidance to museum professionals in conserving and restoring objects. This article reviews imaging techniques intended for these two purposes.