Researching Visual Images with Computer Graphics

Research in art history is largely dependent on photographic reproductions of original works. While it revolutionized art history, the use of photography tended to lift large works out of context, aggrandize details through cropping and sacrifice a sense of scale by showing works in isolation. The author explains that new uses of computer technology are moving beyond these limitations. Along with a team of specialists, she is creating software for constructing three-dimensional, digital representations of works of art that provide continuous, mobile views, as though the spectator were walking through the work’s environment or floating through its space at a natural speed. The author discusses her initial projects with the software and its potential uses in art-historical research and education.