Topographical scanning and reproduction of near-planar surfaces of paintings

Abstract

Paintings are near-planar objects with material characteristics that vary widely. The fact that paint has a material presence is often overlooked, mostly because we often encounter these artworks in the form of two-dimensional reproductions. Capturing paintings in the third dimension is not only important for study, restoration and conservation, but it also inspires 3D printing methods1, particularly through the high demands it makes on reproducing color, gloss and texture. “A hybrid solution between fringe projection and stereo imaging is proposed as 3D imaging method, with a setup involving two cameras and a projector. Fringe projection is aided by sparse stereo matching to serve as image encoder. These encoded images processed by the stereo cameras solve the correspondence problem in stereo matching, leading to a dense and accurate topographical map, while simultaneously capturing the composition of the painting in full color”1. The topographical map and color data are used to make hardcopy 3D reproductions, using a specially developed printing system. Several paintings by Dutch masters Rembrandt and Van Gogh have been scanned and reproduced using this technique. These 3D printed reproductions have been evaluated by experts, both individually and in a side-by-side comparison with the original.