The activities in the field of Applied Physics of Cultural Heritage held by the unit of Ferrara is mainly based on various imaging techniques and devoted to the study of paintings.
The Department of Physics and Earth Sciences of the University and the INFN Section have created special tools to capture images in different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, from infrared to X-rays
In particular, two scanners are operational. One for infrared reflectography and the second for Digital Radiography, that integrate with high-resolution images the information from the more traditional photographic techniques: UV Fluorescence, Raking Light, Transillumination, Microscopy. A spectroscopy device has been also built, for the measurement of the reflectance spectra in the visible and near Infrared from the same images.
This way you can run the complete examination of a painting for tracking its state of conservation, to study the compositional technique, to answer questions posed by conservatives, collectors, art historians.
To respond to increasingly frequent requests for analysis of painting materials without sampling, we carry out sample measurements with XRF spectrometer and spectrophotometer, in collaboration with the TekneHub Laboratory of the Ferrara Technopole.
Currently, the lines of research pursued are dedicated to the identification of the pigments by radiographic images obtained with monochromatic X-rays.
Available Techniques:
– Digital radiography in laboratory and in-situ