Detection of Deformations and Alterations in Paintings Using a New Industrial Geodetic Methodology

In recent years, significant discussions and efforts have been made regarding the deformations’ detection and paintings’ restoration. There are various non-destructive testing methods, such as spectroscopy or photogrammetry, but in this manuscript, a new industrial geodetic methodology is presented, in detail. This method uses both a laser tracker and a coordinate measuring arm in order to create detailed three-dimensional models of the paintings’ surface in real time with an accuracy of ± 0.050 mm. Additionally, using surfaces’ models from different period of time, deformations of ± 0.10 mm are calculated using the Cloud-to-Cloud Distance (C2C) or the Multiscale Model to Model Cloud Comparison (M3C2) algorithm. By testing this new methodology in two different paintings, important results, concerning the paintings’ restoration process, are obtained. This methodology can help restorers, before, during or after restoration, to recognize additions of colors and materials or deformations due to humidity or other causes.