Robotized Line-Scan Thermographic Mid-Wave Infrared Vision for Artwork Inspection: A Study on Famous Mock-Ups

Abstract

This work presents a robotized line-scan thermography (LST) modality for the inspection of two paintings on canvas, which are the mock-ups of a famous oil painting, titled Portrait of the Painter’s Mother. Two widely used image post-processing methods were applied on the acquired LST thermal sequences. X-ray radiography was used to anticipate the thermal inspection results. It was concluded that LST is an effective technique for artwork inspection, and it can additionally provide a higher image contrast if compared to classical flash thermography technique. Consequently, the corresponding physical analysis was conducted. Overall, this work appears useful to investigate the feasibility of LST technique for large-scale artwork in-line inspection.