EXPERIMENTAL COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE APPLICABILITY OF INFRARED TECHNIQUES FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION OF PAINTINGS

Noninvasive methods of near-infrared, short-wave infrared, and thermographic inspection of artwork are described in this article and compared in terms of their ability to reveal both hidden graphite underdrawings and subsurface degradations. This inspection aids the understanding of the artist's work methods and locates hidden areas of damage. While all three inspection methods are suitable for locating sketches and changes in composition, this study has proven that thermographic methods are very useful in detecting structural defects such as delaminations and cavities, as demonstrated with experiments conducted on test samples and real paintings.