Program item

Archiving 2025

Understanding, Measuring and Modelling Various Types of Color Degradation in Museum Collections: Fading, Darkening, Loss

SC07

CANCELLED NEW Understanding, Measuring and Modelling Various Types of Color Degradation in Museum Collections: Fading, Darkening, Loss
Instructor(s): Irina Ciortan and Yoko Arteaga, NTNU
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 2 hours
Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of color science and/or material science
Course Time: 14:15-16:15

Benefits
This course enables the attendee to:
- Understand how degradation manifests differently in artworks depending on the constituent materials
- Learn how to measure and monitor light-induced colour changes in artworks
- Build models towards digital rejuvenation and aging prediction
- Understand the impact of simulating color changes for the preservation of artworks

Course Description
Color change is one of the most noticeable forms of degradation in artworks, driven by environmental factors such as light, temperature, and humidity, which alter the chemical composition of an artwork's materials. Grasping and forecasting the aging behavior of these materials is vital for their preservation and the development of optimal exhibition strategies. Moreover, the ability to restore and visualise an artwork's original colours is crucial for maintaining its visual narrative and historical integrity. In this course, we will delve into diverse methodologies for digitally simulating colour degradation. By synthesizing data from multiple sources—including elemental mapping, color and spectral imaging, artificial aging experiments, and archival film records—we aim to provide a holistic understanding of material changes in artworks from various museum collections. Most of the case-studies presented in the course were elaborated under the funding of the Horizon EU PERCEIVE (https://perceive-horizon.eu/) project, grant agreement nr. 101061157.

Intended Audience: This course is designed for museum curators, conservation scientists, conservators, and imaging scientists who are interested in simulating colour changes in artworks.

Irina Ciortan is a postdoctoral researcher at the Colorlab, NTNU, where she previously completed a PhD degree in Computer Science (2023), with a thesis entitled “Spectral and Multi-light Imaging for Cultural Heritage: Material Analysis and Appearance Reconstruction”. Irina holds a joint MSc diploma in Spectral Science and Multimedia Technologies awarded by the 4-university Erasmus Mundus Consortium “Color in Informatics and Media Technology” (2013) and a BSc in Computer Science issued by the Faculty of Cybernetics, Statistics and Informatics in Bucharest, Romania (2011). Currently, within PERCEIVE, she works as an imaging scientist, mainly capturing data and designing visual computing methods for the digital simulation of color changes in artworks (painting, textiles, historical photographs).

Yoko Arteaga is a postdoctoral researcher in the EU-funded PERCEIVE project at the Colorlab at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). Her research focuses on computational methods for digitally restoring faded, darkened, and lost colors in different works of art. Previously, she completed a PhD at the Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France (C2RMF), where she focused on studying the visual appearance of gilded wood.