Yi Yang
Assistant Professor
Pennsylvania State University
Art conservators are adopting optical technologies for microscopic examination to improve conservation and preservation efforts for artworks (e.g., historical oil paintings and murals). One such imaging technology is optical coherence tomography (OCT), a non-invasive imaging technique that acquires in-depth resolved signals with micrometer resolution. This is highly advantageous for studying the surface features and subsurface structures of delicate cultural heritage objects. This grant-funded project uses a hybrid scanning platform combined with an effective algorithm to achieve macroscopic OCT (macro-OCT) imaging and spectral 3D reconstruction of Impressionist style oil paintings. These digital copies of heritage artworks open up new possibilities for online education, and can also serve as a backup against worst-case scenarios, such as war, terrorism, natural disaster, heist, and other catastrophes that put artworks in a vulnerable position.
Co-authors: Xingyu Zhou, New Jersey Institute of Technology ; Xuan Liu, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Heather McCune Bruhn, Pennsylvania State University