Analysis of a seventeenth-century panel painting by reflection terahertz time-domain imaging (THz-TDI): contribution of ultrafast optics to museum collections inspection

AbstractTerahertz time-domain imaging (THz-TDI) has been applied for nondestructive visualization of a hidden painting and other subsurface composition layers of a seventeenth-century panel painting belonging to the National Gallery of Denmark. Plan-type and cross-sectional scans realized by THz have been compared with images obtained by X-radiography, thus helping in a deep understanding of the strengths and limitations of this technique for art diagnostic purposes and in defining its rule among the other complementary investigation tools for nondestructive inspection of art pieces.

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