Matching canvas weave patterns from processing x-ray images of master paintings

Thread counting algorithms seek to determine from x-ray images the vertical and horizontal thread counts (frequencies) of the canvas weave comprising a painting's support. Our spectral-based algorithm employs a variant of short-time Fourier analysis to the image domain that reveals isolated peaks at the proper vertical and horizontal frequencies. Paintings made on canvas sections cut from the same canvas roll have been hypothesized to have similar, distinctive weave characteristics, allowing art historians to more accurately date paintings. Spatial variation of weave frequency measurements across a painting were cross-correlated using a new measure to determine possible common weave patterns between pairs of x-rays. By analyzing a database of x-rays made from 180 paintings by van Gogh, our algorithms confirmed situations where paintings were known to have been made on canvases cut from the same roll and found new ones.