Imaging techniques and methodologies for acquisition, processing and distribution of multimodal image data from the oeuvre of Jan van Eyck

Abstract

The VERONA (Van Eyck Research in OpeN Access) research project gives open access to high resolution scientific image data from the oeuvre of the pioneer of Flemish painting, Jan van Eyck (ca. 1390-1441). The project is carried out by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA, Brussels) in collaboration with museums that have paintings by Van Eyck in their collections. In each case, the artworks are examined and documented with the same scientific imaging techniques using the same protocol: macrophotography (normal light, raking light, infrared light and ultraviolet fluorescence), infrared reflectography and in some cases radiography. Comparable images are obtained through the use of standardized procedures and the same equipment. The resulting material is publicly released via the website 'Closer to Van Eyck' (closertovaneyck.be). The website user, via comparative windows and zoom features, can actively study for the first time differences and similarities in the artist's technique in various paintings on the basis of the same standardized material. This paper describes the scientific imaging techniques and methodologies used to produce and publish the image material, from the multimodal acquisition to the processing for stitching and multi-modal registration, culminating in web distribution.