Art and Cultural Heritage

Technology that is invaluable in the field of modern police forensics also has a major role to play in the world of art and heritage.

In museums, galleries and libraries worldwide, conservators and curators are increasingly turning to forensic-level tech as they seek to learn every possible detail about the artworks in their possession, hoping to uncover the secrets hidden within the layers beneath their celebrated surfaces.

  • Analyse Suspected Fakes and Counterfeits
  • Reveal Minute Differences in Materials and Quality
  • Visualise Underdrawings and Features Hidden Beneath Layers of Paint
  • Examine Fingerprints Left Behind in Paint, Clay, Ink etc.
  • Gain New Insight into the Methods and Processes Employed by Artists

Forensic Imaging Products

VSC®9000

Forensic Analysis of Manuscripts, Paintings, Documents, Canvases and more…

Our most advanced forensic document imaging workstation to date, the VSC9000 combines sophisticated optics with multi-wavelength illumination technology to provide a complete solution to the examination and interrogation of all questioned documents, manuscripts, drawings and paintings etc.

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VSC Imaging in Action: Ackland Art Museum

Ackland Art Museum curator, Dana Cowen, and paper conservator, Grace White, use multispectral imaging to examine a rare Rembrandt drawing from the Museum’s Peck Collection the layers beneath their celebrated surfaces.

Video courtesy of the Ackland Art Museum

Crime-lite® AUTO

A Complete, Compact Solution for the examination of artworks

Providing full spectral UV-Vis-IR Imaging capabilities in a single compact device, the Crime-lite AUTO enables the examiner to easily move around objects, capturing images from different angles etc.

In art and conservatism, the AUTO device is capable of providing multi-spectral illumination (much like a VSC) albeit in a compact and easily transportable format. This enables the examiner, conservator, curator etc. to examine objects in-situ with the option to move around objects that may be too precious or impractical to return to a lab environment.

  • High sensitivity Vis-IR sensitive camera
  • Live video capture
  • Crystal clear imaging
  • Multi-spectral UV/Vis/IR examination

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Crime-lite AUTO device

Crime-lite AUTO Examines Mount Athos

A team of experienced conservators selected the Crime-lite AUTO when embarking on a trip to uncover hidden details within the Byzantine artwork of Mount Athos.

Using a combination of UV, visible, and Infrared imaging, the team of experts were able to reveal features in the artworks that had remained hidden from view for hundreds of years.

Useful Papers, Publications & Resources

foster+freeman products are widely used by museums, art galleries, universities, and national libraries worldwide, many of whom use the technology to produce valuable research in their chosen fields. Click on the links on the left-hand side of the page for further details of recently published research applications.

VSC8000: multispectral imaging in the Queen’s university arts conservation lab

VSC8000: Non-invasive imaging of historical knotted-pile carpets

VSC5000: Harvard Art Museum, A Secret Madonna and Child

VSC8000: Technical Analysis of Harvard-Yenching Library’s Chʻwisŏng-to Manuscript

VSC: Multispectral Imaging at Duke University

VSC: Hidden Paint Layers in a Gulistan of Sa’di from the Freer Gallery of Art

VSC: Non-Destructive Pigment Identification

Crime-lite AUTO: Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE)

Crime-lite AUTO: Lab on the Road / Museum Jan Cunen