Lucida Lab Milano

2014 - Present

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Lucida 3D Scanner at Lucida Lab Milano © Factum Foundation

Lucida Lab Milano was established in 2014 to promote the application of digital, non-invasive and non-contact technologies for the preservation of cultural heritage in Italy. It was conceived as an extension of Factum Foundation and is based at Open Care, a Milan-based conservation and restoration laboratory and art services workshop. Under its two directors, Guendalina Damone and Carlos Bayod, Lucida Lab Milano has accumulated a wealth of experience in the digitisation of artworks.

Lucida Lab specialises in high-resolution 3D scanning for museums, public collections, heritage foundations, cultural institutions, conservation workshops and private collectors alike. A second key objective is to demonstrate the value of high-resolution digital recording for cultural heritage applications. An 'original' object exists within the dynamic processes of history – technology, if used in the right way, can uncover the multiplicity of events that have shaped and altered an object from the time it was created by the artist. New technologies, in particular high-resolution digital imaging in 3D and colour, are also crucial for conservation. They essentially 'freeze' an artwork in its current state of conservation and can be used by researchers and conservators to monitor changes to a surface through time. The records generated through high-resolution recording are also a 21st century means to ensure accurate and comperhensive documentation is handed down to future generations.

Lucida Lab Milano dedicates significant resources to educating specialists and the general public alike on the role digital technologies can play in cultural heritage preservation as well as in the contemporary art world. Visits and seminars are often held at the studio, creating a platform where people are invited to discuss the importance of high-resolution recording of artworks. Conservators, restorers and students can also come together to participate in introductory training sessions on recording and processing data with the Lucida scanner. In these sessions, special attention is given to exploring how the data can be used, encouraging the participant to experiment with new techniques within the bounds of conventional practice.

Lucida Lab's multifaceted approach has generated considerable interest from public and private art and heritage institutions in Italy, as well as in the Italian media.

Guendalina Damone working on outreach at Lucida Lab Milano © Factum Foundation

Services

Lucida Lab Milano is equipped with a Lucida 3D Scanner for use in projects that involve digitising the surface relief of paintings or other low relief objects. Lucida Lab can also provide high-resolution colour photography alongside other 3D recording services including photogrammetry, white light, and LiDAR scanning. The client can receive both original and processed files in simple formats for visualisation and/or reproduction. In keeping with Factum Foundation's ethos, data obtained during a recording project belongs to the owner of the artwork, who retains all current and future rights to the information.

Notable Lucida projects include the digitisation of two panels by Francesco del Cossa at the Pinacoteca di Brera (before and after restoration), Giovanni Donato da Montorfano’s Crucifixion fresco in the Cenacolo Vinciano, a series of panels by Bernardino Luini in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana and a the 3D scanning of a painting by Alberto Burri in Bergamo, amongst many others.

Lucida Lab Milano - Lucida 3D Scanner © Factum Foundation

Past Projects: Recording and recreating the Polittico Griffoni

The Lucida was used to scan the sixteen panels of the Renaissance altarpiece known as the Polittico Griffoni - here Francesco del Cossa's Annunciation Angel and Annunciation Virgin at the Museo di Villa Cagnola © Factum Foundation

The data from all panels was used to 'recreate' the altarpiece, which hasn't been seen together since the 18th century © Factum Foundation

Printing a panel of the Polittico Griffoni - the Lucida 3D data is critical to a plausible reproduction © Factum Foundation

Traditional techniques like gilding were combined with technology to recreate this masterpiece of Renaissance art © Factum Foundation

Past Projects: Recording Bernardino Luini with Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan

Lucida Lab Milano and Factum Foundation participated in an international research initiative on Bernardino Luini (c.1480-1532), a Milanese artist from the circle of Leonardo. Lucida Lab produced the 3D and colour recordings of five of his works: The Holy Family (c.1520 - 1530), The Infant Jesus with lamb (1525), Tobias and the Angel (drawing), The Virgin nursing the Child (1524, workshop), and Noli me tangere (c. 1510-1520, workshop). Other non-contact data, including X-ray and infrared, recorded by various institutions was integrated with the Lucida 3D scans and the results presented as high-resolution data viewers – a valuable new resource with information essential for the preservation, study and dissemination of Luini’s work.

The project was generously supported by Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione Gianmaria Buccellati, Alvise di Canossa and Swiss Lab for Culture Projects. The results of the project were presented to the public on the 30th November 2017 at the Fondazione Cariplo Convention Center in Milan.

Guendalina Damone scanning The Holy Family by Bernardino Luini © Factum Foundation

Digitising Noli me tangere with the Lucida 3D Scanner © Factum Foundation

Bando Lucida competition

Lucida Lab Milano runs a competition that aims to promote the use of 3D scanning for cultural heritage preservation by providing free 3D digitisation and data processing. The first winner of the competition was the 'Società di Incoraggiamento allo studio del disegno e di conservazione delle opere d’arte in Valsesia (Varallo)', which presented a Angelo Annunciante (c. 1550) by the Piedmontese Renaissance artist Gaudenzio Ferrari. The delicate painting was recorded at Lucida Lab Milano in 2015 prior to its restoration. The data aided conservators in decision-making throughout the restoration process.

Angelo Annunciante (c. 1550), attributed to Gaudenzio Ferrari

3D data of the surface generated by the Lucida 3D Scanner © Factum Foundation

 

The 2020 edition of Bando Lucida was announced in 2019 and was won by the Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta in Parma, which presented the The Assumption of Mary and Saints by the workshop of Sandro Botticelli. 

 


For more information about Lucida Lab Milano, or scanning enquiries, please contact info@factumfoundation.org or call +39 02 22175038.

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