Restoring the Artistic Value of Digital Images Based on Line Drawing Extraction Following Oriental Painting Tradition

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K00228
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 01070:Theory of art practice-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
• Principal Investigator: ASO Miki 東京藝術大学, 大学院美術研究科, 研究員 (90401504)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: デジタル白描画 / 法隆寺金堂壁画 / 6号壁 / 化生菩薩像 / コロタイプ印刷 / ガラス乾板 / ソグド壁画 / 描き起こし図

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The inheritance of iconography in Oriental paintings has been hand-drawn by artists since ancient times, but in modern times, photography has taken on this role. While the photographs are accurate, the original iconography may be difficult to discern if it is severely damaged or peeled off. Against this background, it was thought that it was necessary to decipher and pass on the iconography using modern methods, and this led to the idea of “digital line drawing,” which extracts line drawing information from high-definition images. Mural No.6 in the Kondo-Hall at Horyu-ji Temple was selected as the target work. In this research, by deciphering the rules of form, it was possible to recognize part of the shape of the hands and feet of the Kesho-Bodhisattva statues, which had been unknown until now. The possibility of similarities with Sogdian murals was shown in part of the foot design and the composition method using fractal geometry.

Free Research Field

日本画

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究では東洋絵画の現代に即した図像継承の手法として、高精細画像からデジタル上で線描を抽出し、活用しやすい情報として後世に継承することを目指した。構想段階では制作者の解釈が少ない線描が得られると考えていたが、損傷の度合いによっては制作者の判断に委ねられる部分が多かった。しかし当初の予想とは異なる可能性も感じ、デジタル上で詳細に図像検証を行うことでこれまで不明であった図像の認識や構図法の考察など多角的に検証することが可能であった。作成した線描が今後の復元研究や、古来粉本が描かれた本来の意味である次世代の創作に活用されること、本研究の手法が今後も活用されて東洋絵画の図像継承の一助となることを願う。