Artwork digitization and investigation : a case study of the Loom Weaver oil painting by Hosni El-Bannani

Part of : Mediterranean archaeology & archaeometry : international journal ; Vol.13, No.2, 2013, pages 21-29

Issue:
Pages:
21-29
Author:
Abstract:
Art, Science and Technology are the main elements of Artwork Investigation which requires the mutual understanding of artistic, historical and technical issues in a multidisciplinary environment. In this research we will introduce an oil painting from the collection of Hosni El-Bannani who was one of the pioneer’s artists of the impressionist art movement in Egypt. His oil painting was suffering from many deterioration aspects and was planned for conservation treatments. A digitization and investigation project was initiated to run in parallel to keep record of the physical condition of the painting and to monitor the remedial treatment process. This case study will focus on the digitization and investigation phases within the framework of a proposed workflow. Several acquisition techniques that have been used will be presented; multispectral imaging, high resolution scanning, microscopy, analytical qualitative and quantitative studies. The analysis of the results identified clear under-drawings and composition shift that correspond to the original style of the artist. Moreover, the digital record of the results for the surface and the strata will be used as an identifier of the art object and for further studies. Finally an interactive application has been developed to be used for investigation, layers comparison and presentation.
Subject:
Subject (LC):
Keywords:
multispectral imaging, spectroscopy, composition shifts, conservation
Notes:
Περιέχει πίνακες και εικόνες
References (1):
  1. Boer, J.R.J. (1968) Infrared Reflectography: A Method for the Examination of Paintings, Applied Optics, 7(9), 1711-1714.Boer, J.R.J. (1969) Reflectography of paintings using an infrared vidicon television system, Studies in Conservation, 14, 96–118.Ektessabi, A.I. (2008) A System for High Resolution Digitizing, Non-Destructive Analyses, and Secure-Dynamic Display of Cultural Heritage, Microsoft Research Asia, e-heritage.FujiFilm Corporation (2007) FujiFilm IS Pro Important notices and disclaimers, Tokyo: FujiFilm Corporation.Gazalah, I. (2007) Prism art series: Hosni El Banana, 1st ed., Cairo: Ministry of Culture, Foreign Cultural Relations.Gimeno-Adelantado, J.V., Mateo-Castro, R., Doménech-Carbó, M.T., Bosch-Reig F, Doménech-Carbó, A., Casas-Catalán, M.J. and Osete-Cortina, L. (2001) Indentification of Lipid binders in Painting by Gas Chromatography influence of the pigments, Journals of Chromatography, A922, P–385– 390.Hand, J.O. and Wolff, M. (1986) Early Netherlandish Painting: The Collections of The National Gallery of Art: Systematic Catalogue. Vol.4, Washington: National Gallery of Art, 261, Print.Liritzis, I. and Polychroniadou, E. (2007) Optical and analytical techniques applied to the Amfissa Cathedral mural paintings made by the Greek artist Spyros Papaloukas (1892-1957), Revue d’ Archaeometrie (Archaeosciences), 31, 97-112.Ministry of Culture (2010) Sector of Fine Arts, Curriculum Vitae of Hosni Mohamed El Banani [On-line], http://www.fineart.gov.eg/arb/cv/CV.asp?IDS=840, accessed 1/1/2010.Moutsatsou, A., Doulgeridis, M., Skapoula, D. (2011) The Contribution of Transmitted Infrared Imaging to Non-Invasive Study of Canvas Paintings at the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutzos Museum, Greece, e-conservation magazine 22, pp. 53-61, http://www.e-conservationline.com/content/view/1038, accessed 08.02.2012.Schneider, J.O.W.G. (2004) B+W Filter Handbook, Germany: Schneider-kreuznach, 27-29.Toque, J.A. (2010) Materials Investigation through High-resolution Analytical Imaging and Spectrometry, Ph.D. Thesis, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University.Verhoeven, G. (2008) Imaging the Invisible Using Modified Digital Cameras for Straightforward and Low-Cost Archaeological Near-Infrared Photography, Journal of Archaeological Science, 35: 3087-3100.Walmsley, E., Fletcher, C., Delaney, J. (1992) Evaluation of System Performance of Near-Infrared Imaging Devices, Studies in Conservation, 37.Walmsley, E., Delaney, J.K., Fletcher, C. and Metzger, C. (1994) Improved visualization of underdrawings with solid-state detectors operating in the infrared, Studies in Conservation, 39, 217–231.