Visualization of pigment distributions in paintings using synchrotron K-edge imaging

X-ray radiography plays an important role in the study of artworks and archaeological artifacts. The internal structure of objects provides information on genesis, authenticity, painting technique, material condition and conservation history. Transmission radiography, however, does not provide information on the exact elemental composition of objects and heavy metal layers can shadow or obscure the ones including lighter elements. This paper presents the first application of synchrotron-based K-edge absorption imaging applied to paintings. Using highly monochromatic radiation, K-edge imaging is used to obtain elemental distribution images over large areas. Such elemental maps visualize the distribution of an individual pigment throughout the paint stratigraphy. This provides color information on hidden paint layers, which is of great relevance to art historians and painting conservators. The main advantage is the quick data acquisition time and the sensitivity to elements throughout the entire paint stratigraphy. The examination of a test painting is shown and further instrumental developments are discussed. PACS 07.85.Qe; 07.05.Pj     

构成白光LED的单色光对中国淡彩绘画色彩的影响

为得到构成白光LED光谱的主要单色光对中国传统淡彩绘画色彩的影响规律,确定不同波长单色光对绘画色彩的量化损伤程度,进而根据研究结果得到最低损伤白光LED的光谱功率分布,以构成白光LED光谱的4种主要单色光作为实验光源,分组照射中国传统淡彩绘画模型试件。在每个照射周期后,对试件的色彩参数进行检测,根据检测数据绘制主波长、兴奋纯度、亮度3个参数随总曝光量积累的衰变曲线,基于曲线分析得到各种淡彩绘画颜料在光照下的色彩衰变规律,并根据实验数据计算得到4种单色光对绘画色彩主波长的影响关系为482 nm∶510 nm∶583 nm∶650 nm=8 147∶9 067∶9 772∶9 121;对兴奋纯度的影响关系为482 nm∶510 nm∶583 nm∶650 nm=89 446∶85 250∶76 895∶69 229;对亮度的影响关系为482 nm∶510 nm∶583 nm∶650 nm=137∶238∶190∶177。     

一种新的基于纹理和空间分布特征的图像检索

提出一种新的基于纹理和空间分布特征的图像检索方法.将检索图像分块,采用平移和尺度不变小波对各图像子块进行分解,在改进的快速小波直方图算法基础上提取图像子块的小波直方图,并提取每个图像子块的小波信息熵和三阶中心距作为纹理特征.对小波信息熵和中心矩特征进行高斯归一化,并利用特征向量的欧氏距离计算图像的纹理和空间特征的相似度.基于纹理图像库和自然图像库的检索试验表明,该方法比基于快速小波直方图算法和对数极坐标变换检索算法具有较高的检索准确度.     

Visualization of scientific arts and some examples of applications

In this paper, implementation and visualization of scientific arts are described using some examples of application in subject research areas, such as sculpture, archeology, fine arts and information aesthetics, which have been discussed through the Scientific Art Session at FLUCOME9, Tallahassee, Florida, 2007–9. In the application to sculpture, stereo visualization techniques, such as anaglyph stereo visualization and integral imaging technique, are introduced to realize the three-dimensional geometry of sculpture to enhance visual impact on the art. The second application is the flow visualization technique for archeology, where the vortices behind the river stones are studied to understand the origin of patterns on Jomon pottery. Interestingly, such vortex patterns also appear in the paintings of fine arts. The third example is the visualization of information aesthetics, where the Web information, such as public media and stock market, are visualized through scientific techniques. These examples of visualization of scientific arts provide the present state of the art in interdisciplinary visualization.     

An external PIXE study: Mughal painting pigments

Recently, a new external beam PIXE facility was installed at the 2 MV tandem ion accelerator of the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM). For external beam PIXE, 1–3 MeV protons are extracted through a thin exit window and focused on the target under air pressure. This set‐up is particularly suitable for multielement trace analysis in the field of unique art and archaeological objects. We report the first archaeometric findings of the study of Mughal painting pigments by means of this experimental set‐up. The Indian miniatures chosen for the study date from the Mughal period (1526–1858) and were executed by various artists in particular workshops between the 17th and the 19th centuries. The paintings are typical depictions of Mughal sovereigns and courtiers or show genre scenes. Until now, in contrast to European paintings, only scarce information on the materials used in the workshops of Mughal painters has been available. Therefore, the exact knowledge of the painting materials employed would allow a more detailed attribution of the precious miniatures to a particular period and to distinguish original paintings from later copies. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-invasive investigation of art paintings by terahertz imaging

Terahertz electromagnetic waves propose attractive features such as non-invasive and non-destructive analysis, transparency and good penetration depth through various materials, low scattering and broad spectral bandwidth. In this paper, we demonstrate the capability of terahertz imaging for the investigation of art paintings. The imaging system is able to reveal buried layer information such as a graphite handmade sketch covered by several layers of painting. In addition, taking advantage of the pulsed terahertz emission, we show that it is also possible to evaluate the variations of the painting thickness.     

一种基于小波变换的红外偏振融合算法

针对红外偏振图像可以较好地抑制背景噪声,对目标边缘信息比较敏感的特点,提出一种基于小波变换的红外偏振融合算法,它主要用于红外辐射强度图像和偏振度图像融合,增加图像的信息量。首先采用小波变换对参与融合的每幅图像分别进行各尺度分解,得到各尺度小波系数,然后针对不同尺度小波系数,采用邻域平均梯度为判据进行融合,得到融合后的各尺度小波系数,最后通过小波逆变换进行图像重构,得到融合图像。融合前后的图像对比表明融合图像在保留辐射强度图像的清晰度的同时,突出了目标的边缘、轮廓信息。相对于辐射强度图像,融合图像的梯度均值提高了112%,相对于偏振度图像,融合图像的标准差提高了151%,信息熵提高了38%。     

Order-fractal transitions in abstract paintings

In this study, we determined the degree of order for 22 Jackson Pollock paintings using the Hausdorff–Besicovitch fractal dimension. Based on the maximum value of each multi-fractal spectrum, the artworks were classified according to the year in which they were painted. It has been reported that Pollock’s paintings are fractal and that this feature was more evident in his later works. However, our results show that the fractal dimension of these paintings ranges among values close to two. We characterize this behavior as a fractal-order transition. Based on the study of disorder-order transition in physical systems, we interpreted the fractal-order transition via the dark paint strokes in Pollock’s paintings as structured lines that follow a power law measured by the fractal dimension. We determined self-similarity in specific paintings, thereby demonstrating an important dependence on the scale of observations. We also characterized the fractal spectrum for the painting entitled Teri’s Find. We obtained similar spectra for Teri’s Find and Number 5, thereby suggesting that the fractal dimension cannot be rejected completely as a quantitative parameter for authenticating these artworks.     

基于时频分帧能量熵的陶瓷制品敲击声波信号特征识别

针对现有陶瓷制品敲击声波信号特征提取方法中提取的特征代表性降低的问题,该文提出结合最大重叠离散小波包变换(MODWPT)和时频分帧能量熵的特征提取方法。首先采用MODWPT将信号分解为4层,再对每个节点的子信号分帧后计算各个节点的时频分帧能量熵,然后根据能量分布特征选择了前6个节点的时频分帧能量熵特征,最后构建随机森林分类器完成识别。将该方法和MODWPT时频分段能量熵、MODWPT归一化能量特征两种方法进行比较。实验结果表明,相比MODWPT时频分段能量熵、MODWPT归一化能量两种特征提取方法,MODWPT时频分帧能量熵能提升特征的代表性,具有更优的陶瓷制品敲击声波信号特征识别性能,其识别的F₁值达到了98.46%,相比上述两种方法分别提升F₁值3.22%、1.86%。     

基于自适应无下采样提升框架的Stokes图像获取方法

根据成像偏振探测中stokes参数图像获取的原理和方法，分析了传统求取stokes参数图像方法在保留图像细节信息和处理输入图像微小平移等方面的不足，在此基础上提出了基于自适应平移不变小波分解的stokes参数图像求取方法，并用无下采样的提升框架来执行平移不变小波分解以提高算法的灵活性和计算速度.针对不同的stokes参数图像求取方法，用均值、方差、熵、边界能量对融合结果进行评价和分析.通过仿真，表明本文方法提高了stokes参数图像的质量并改善了stokes参数图像计算方法对输入图像平移的敏感性.     

Do bees like Van Gogh's Sunflowers?

Flower colours have evolved over 100 million years to address the colour vision of their bee pollinators. In a much more rapid process, cultural (and horticultural) evolution has produced images of flowers that stimulate aesthetic responses in human observers. The colour vision and analysis of visual patterns differ in several respects between humans and bees. Here, a behavioural ecologist and an installation artist present bumblebees with reproductions of paintings highly appreciated in Western society, such as Van Gogh's Sunflowers. We use this unconventional approach in the hope to raise awareness for between-species differences in visual perception, and to provoke thinking about the implications of biology in human aesthetics and the relationship between object representation and its biological connotations.     

一种基于提升小波的图像融合技术研究

针对红外与可见光图像进行提升小波变换后低频图像的特点,提出了一种低频分量的融合算法,高频分量采取邻域方差取大为准则进行融合,然后进行提升小波逆变换得到融合图像。通过与传统小波融合方法进行比较,并引入信息熵、清晰度、Xydeas-Petrovic客观性能指标对融合后的图像进行分析。实验结果表明不论从视觉效果还是从客观性能指标上,该算法都优于传统的融合方法。     

A scientific approach to the characterisation of the painting technique of an author: the case of Raffaele Rinaldi

During the last restoration of the six paintings by Raffaele Rinaldi (1851–1916), located in the church of Maria SS. Annunziata (Marano Principato, Cosenza, Italy), made between 1890 and 1903, several scientific investigations were carried out on them. The present work aims at classifying the painting in terms of its materials and technical particularities. The goal of this study was to characterise the painting technique of the painter, its evolution and possible additions made during previous restorations. Pigments, binder media and raw materials used for the application of the ground and the paint layers were studied using electronic microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy qualitative microanalysis (SEM-EDS), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Furthermore, a complete analysis of the state of preservation of these paintings represents a scientific aid and guide for its restoration, taking into account the severe damage not exclusively due to natural decay processes. Our data can provide information about historical and stylistic background as well as advise for correct planning of the cleaning procedures. The identification of materials allowed a correct restoration.     

基于小波分析和SVM的人脸表情识别

提出了一种能量特征与支持向量机(SVM)相结合的面部表情识别方法。首次提出了小波能量特征在表情识别中的应用。由于小波能量特征具有表现表情纹路的能力,与人脸表情识别的要求正好相符,所以把小波能量特征加入到原始图像中,再用Fisher线性判别法(FLD)进行特征提取,然后采用SVM进行识别。通过对在日本JAFFE人脸表情库中的七种表情(生气、厌恶、恐惧、高兴、中性、悲伤、惊讶)进行实验,验证了该方法的有效性。它不仅能获得高的表情识别率,而且过程简单,易于实现。     

小波分析在灰度遥感图像去云中的应用

针对薄云覆盖的灰度遥感图像其清晰度低、难于判读地物信息等问题, 提出了小波分析方法用于灰度遥感图像去云。以256 pixel×256 pixel的灰度遥感图像为例, 进行1～8级分解, 重构时对细节系数放大1～10倍, 先选定小波函数确定图像信息熵取得最高时的分解级数为7和相应细节系数的放大倍数, 再确定双正交2.2型小波和离散近似Mery小波, 以0.1为步长的细节放大倍数作进一步分析。结果表明, 分解的级数较低时, 图像信息熵对细节系数放大倍数的依赖性很强; 放大倍数为1.1时得到的图像其信息熵取得极大值; 采用离散近似Mery小波, 当放大倍数为4.8和5.7时还出现2个峰值。     

光学小波包变换及其滤波器的研究

基于对光学小波变换必要条件的分析,提出光学小波包变换的概念.选出虹膜图库的联合最优小波包基,利用最优基的线性组合生成相应的复合光学小波包滤波器.将滤波器用于光电混合虹膜识别系统中对待识别输入进行小波包特征提取预处理,模拟结果不仅证明引入该滤波器可明显提升系统的识别效果,也证明了光学小波包变换提出的意义.     

Characterizing continuously rotating detonation via nonlinear time series analysis

The sampled pressure signals in continuously rotating detonation combustors have the inherence of nonlinear dynamics. To dig out more information on combustion modes, the nonlinear time series analysis method is thus applied to the pressure-time series obtained at a hydrogen/air rotating detonation combustor by using the phase space reconstruction and wavelet entropy algorithm. The variation of wavelet entropy is approved to be associated with the periodicity variation of pressure signals. Different structures of attractor as well as wavelet entropy distribution in the phase diagram can distinguish the deflagration mode from the unstable and stable detonation modes under the conditions of different air flow rates. The limit-cycle oscillation is exhibited in the phase space diagram with a very low flow rate, here 25 g/s. The mean wavelet entropy of pressure-time series can be a quantitative index of different combustion modes occurring in the combustor. The present study is expected to enhance the understanding of the physical mechanism of continuously rotating detonation and contribute on the development of detonation propulsion technology.