Report on LIF measurements in Seville. Part 1: Virgen del Buen Aire chapel

Abstract

Within the frame of a scientific cooperation between ENEA UTAPRAD (Frascati) and UPO Natural Sciences Dep. (Seville), aimed at developing and testing innovative diagnostic instrumentation for Cultural Heritage preservation, this report deals with results obtained in a joint campaign carried on in Seville during February 2010. Namely the data acquired by the ENEA LIF scanning system operated on fresco’s in Virgen del Buen Aire Chapel are presented here. The Virgen del Buen Aire Chapel has been studied according to the Research Project of “Non Destructive Techniques” managed by IAPH (Consejería de Cultura de la Junta de Andalucía). The results have been also implemented as part of a conservation project carried out by IAPH. LIF images are discussed in term of evaluating former restoration actions, in particular retouches on pigments and consolidant additions on a painted wall and two vaults. Statistical approaches and projection operators have been utilized for elaborating the images in order to handle the large number of spectra collected in each scanned point by our hyper-spectral system.