There was a post on Facebook showing an image of the painting Virgin and Child, by Italian painter Pintoricchio. Next to it was a photo of that painting undergoing a CT scan.
Here is a screen capture from the post:
It is quite obvious that in the photo the painting looks bright and lively, not at all like the dark and dingy image on the left.
No, it isn’t my laptop that shows them differently. The same thing happens on my iPhone.
If the painting were as dark as their image it would look dark in the photo too – as shown in my simulated photo here (on the right). But it doesn’t. So, their image is poorly processed or reproduced.
It takes but a few clicks in a photo editor to make the dingy image look like it probably does.
Why the dingy images? What is it that the CMA can’t get right?
In an earlier post I complained about the same problem, Rembrandt Night Watch.
Rembrandt – Night Watch
Rembrandt’s “The Night Watch” – In the News A giant new scan of Rembrandt’s famous painting is making the rounds in the art news world. It is generally accompanied with an illustration like this: Kinda dark and dingy if you ask me. What good is fabulous resolution if you can’t really see it well?…
.:. © 2022 Ludwig Keck
This 'n That 