A 10B Pixel Scan of Vermeer’s Masterpiece

I&#x27;m disappointed that the illumination is not uniform in the stitch. Artifacts from the sampling and stitching leave subtle bands in the output that I&#x27;m fairly confident are not in the original. This is likely a biproduct of using some non-uniform scope-attached illuminator and not having sufficient overlap in their sampling.<p>Nonetheless, when zoomed in, the detail is impressive.

If you click the &quot;3D&quot; button at the bottom you can view a tile in 3D in the browser <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;hirox-europe.com&#x2F;PEARL&#x2F;3D&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;hirox-europe.com&#x2F;PEARL&#x2F;3D&#x2F;</a><p>That page also has a link to a YouTube video describing what, how, and why they made this scan <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=cKaZYTwmjwU" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=cKaZYTwmjwU</a>

This is incredible work. The 3D component is superb. The effort is clearly apparent. I spent half an hour fiddling with the thing before I realized what had happened. This must have significant value to archivists.<p>I want to plug a documentary in which someone invents a tool in an attempt to replicate a Vermeer. The documentary supposes that Vermeer may have used such a tool. It&#x27;s an interesting cross section of art, engineering, and history.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Tim%27s_Vermeer" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Tim%27s_Vermeer</a>

I wonder, for some of the heavy brushstrokes Impressionists, a lidar scan would almost be appropriate. Some of the paintings where the paint is in physical clumps on the canvas, it has its own 3d quality to it that looks different from different angles. I don&#x27;t think it will get captured with a single image taken from straight on.<p>Like this: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;3dprint.com&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2016&#x2F;11&#x2F;iris.jpg" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;3dprint.com&#x2F;wp-content&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;2016&#x2F;11&#x2F;iris.jpg</a>

Good post to plug the documentary &quot;Tim&#x27;s Vermeer&quot; ( <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imdb.com&#x2F;title&#x2F;tt3089388&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.imdb.com&#x2F;title&#x2F;tt3089388&#x2F;</a>), which is a joy to watch as they try to reverse-engineer the particular style Vermeer painted in.

Does it make sense to look at a painting at a scale at which the original painter couldn&#x27;t possibly have seen it?

Is there some way to download this scan locally?

I wish I could see what&#x27;s between the cracks. That&#x27;s maybe in 2026?

Feature request, ability to link to specific spots&#x2F;zoom levels.<p>Really really dig the 3D view. It&#x27;s hard to believe it&#x27;s to scale, but it&#x27;s soo close in that maybe?!

There are parts under the eyes and on the nose where there is material <i>on top</i> of the cracks. Is this from a restoration effort?

Does anyone know if there&#x27;s a database with the highest quality scans of different masterpieces?

Brilliant. Looking forward to this new documentation technique for irreplaceable treasures.

The main page of the microscopes website has a youtube video showing the process.