https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-02598-7
Regular Article
Performances of a portable Fourier transform hyperspectral imaging camera for rapid investigation of paintings
1
Physics Department, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milan, Italy
2
IFN-CNR, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milan, Italy
3
C2RMF, Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des musées de France, Palais du Louvre, 75001, Paris, France
4
Département des Arts de l’Islam, Muses de Louvre, 75058, Paris, France
a
alessia.candeo@polimi.it
b
benedetto.ardini@polimi.it
Received:
10
November
2021
Accepted:
12
March
2022
Published online:
30
March
2022
Scientific investigation in the cultural heritage field is generally aimed at the characterization of the constituent materials and the conservation status of artworks. Since the 1990s, reflectance spectral imaging proved able to map pigments, reveal hidden details and evaluate the presence of restorations in paintings. Over the past two decades, hyperspectral imaging has further improved our understanding of paints and of its changes in time. In this work, we present an innovative hyperspectral camera, based on the Fourier transform approach, utilising an ultra-stable interferometer and we describe its advantages and drawbacks with respect to the commonly used line- and spectral-scanning methods. To mitigate the weaknesses of the Fourier transform hyperspectral imaging, we propose a strategy based on the virtual extension of the dynamic range of the camera and on the design of an illumination system with a balanced emission throughout the spectral range of interest. The hyperspectral camera was employed for the analysis of a painting from the “Album of Nasir al-din Shah”. By applying analysis routines based on supervised spectral unmixing, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our camera for pigment mapping. This work shows how the proposed hyperspectral imaging camera based on the Fourier transform is a promising technique for robust and compact in situ investigation of artistic objects in conditions compatible with museum and archaeological sites.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-022-02598-7.
The funding note has been missing and added: Open access funding provided by Politecnico di Milano within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.
Copyright comment corrected publication 2022
© The Author(s) 2022. corrected publication 2022
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