VUB spin-off instrumental in digitalisation of Flemish primitive artist Hans Memling
To mark the reopening of the Museum St John’s Hospital in Bruges on 16 December, the paintings of Hans Memling have been digitalised. Universum Digitalis, a spin-off of VUB’s Department of Electronics and Informatics (ETRO) played a crucial role in the process. The spin-off, under the leadership of Professor Frederik Temmermans, processed hundreds of high-resolution detail shots captured by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage using meticulous methodology, at the request of museum association Musea Brugge. Universum Digitalis created gigapixel images for use online, as well as for further research in a range of applications.
The works are available online in high resolution, allowing visitors to admire the master’s tiniest details. Other exposure techniques such as infrared, target light and X-rays will follow early next year.
This is not Universum Digitalis’s first achievement. The spin-off focuses on ultra-high resolution image processing when digitising the invaluable art heritage, as well as the realisation of interfaces that make images accessible to both art scholars and museum visitors. It has built applications for museums, cultural institutions and other organisations to digitally reproduce artworks in extremely high resolution, for use on websites and exhibitions. Its work includes the art of Bruegel and Van Eyck, a project that won a Belgian E-Gov Award and a European Heritage/Europa Nostra Award.
Contact
Frederik Temmermans: frederik.temmermans@vub.be 0479 49 94 26
