Physics, colour and art: a fruitful marriage

Abstract

This paper is a review of recent applications of colour for studying works of art. Three means to pursue the colour are suggested: a goniospectrometer in back-scattered configuration, a multispectral camera and modelling using radiative transfer. The procedures are non-destructive, contactless, implementable in situ and leading to quantitative results in real time. Colorimetric status reports are first developed as a tool for restorers, conservators and archivists. Examples of the follow up of a restoration and of the assessment of an exposure in a museum are presented. Further analyses allow comparing the palette of different painters and discriminating different artistic techniques, such as glaze and pigment mixture, for art historians. Finally, the modification of the colour is studied due to a modification of the surface state or to the applying of a varnish.