InsightART’s superior-quality service is a powerful tool for experts in the field of art studies and authentication such as restorers or art historians. Other customers who will benefit from this cutting-edge technology are private collectors, galleries and auction houses.

Auction houses, galleries & collectors

The unprecedented sensitivity and contrast achievable in our images allows us to reveal art hidden in deeper layers of pigments for centuries. Auction houses, galleries and art collectors therefore find our technology and service to be an invaluable tool to provide insight into the history of paintings and other fine art objects. It reveals changes to the artwork made in the past (such as repaints and restorations) and shows the actual condition of the artwork. Spatial resolution of a few tens of micrometres provides a unique tool to record a “fingerprint” of the artwork, i.e., a map of its internal structure. This fingerprint is impossible to forge as it contains high-resolution information on the structure of the entire art object including craquelure, canvas or wood structure, and pigments (including their type)—all in one image.

Restorers, conservators & other professionals in the art industry

Restorers, conservators and other experts in fine art studies benefit from our service of non-invasive, material-sensitive radiographic art imaging. The x-ray imaging scanners used by InsightART also provide information on the material composition of art. We identify the different types of pigments and materials in an art object, and thus our cutting-edge x-ray imaging technology allows for the precise assessment of the condition of a painting or other fine art object and mapping of possible damage. Images with a resolution of a few tens of microns provide forensic data about the artwork. For instance, it allows for the definition of conditions for the further safe handling of the art object. In summary, the system offers:

• a tool to study the internal structure of an art object at the micrometric level;
• assessment of the condition of the art object;
• data about retouches, corrections or modifications of an art object made in the past;
• information to define additionally required restoration or conservation procedures;
• data for dating and attribution of art.