Manchester University uses HD Projectors to Preserve Henry VIII’s Tapestries
King Henry the 8th was one of England’s most controversial kings. Through out his reign he collected over 2000 tapestries, which was one of the highest art forms in the 16th century. Hundreds of years later, his tapestries have shown their age and are starting to fade and deteriorate. In an effort to preserve these magnificent artworks, Manchester University researches have devised a way to show viewers exactly what they would have looked when they were first created. The process starts by measuring the color of every yarn on the tapestry and by using specialized software, the researches were able to create a digital version of the tapestry as it would have looked. The digital copy is then projected onto the hanging tapestry by using two high definition projectors. The projectors beam over two million pixels of color, turning the washed out tapestry into its vibrant colorful former self. Kathryn Hallett, conservation and science manager at Historic Royal Palaces, said “Hampton Court in Henry’s time was a golden pleasure palace and would have been very brightly colored to our eyes. The tapestries would have dazzled visitors.” The tapestries are on display in the Hampton Court Palace.
[via Telegraph]
