Barrel vault Naarden
Keywords
- 3D digitisation
- Photogrammetry
- LiDAR
- Cultural heritage
- Digital art history
- Virtual Reality
Short description
Utrecht University ArtLab digitally documented the sixteenth-century painted barrel vault of the Grote Kerk Naarden using high-resolution photogrammetry and LiDAR. The resulting large-scale 3D model makes the vulnerable paintings accessible for research, conservation and public engagement, by allowing the paintings to be studied in detail.
Developed in collaboration with the Onderzoeksschool Kunstgeschiedenis, the project combines research-grade 3D documentation with interactive digital visualisations and a Virtual Reality experience. These allow researchers, conservators and church-visitors to explore the vault at close range and from viewpoints that are otherwise difficult to access.
Background
The sixteenth-century barrel vault of the Grote Kerk Naarden is one of the most important surviving ensembles of monumental painting from this period in the Netherlands. The entire wooden vault is painted with biblical scenes and forms a rare surviving example of a type of decorated church interior that was probably considerably more common in the late medieval Low Countries.
The paintings are currently the subject of an extensive conservation campaign. Their scale, height and vulnerable condition make close examination difficult. High-resolution digital documentation offered a way to document and expand access to the paintings throughout and beyond the conservation campaign.
The project therefore approached the 3D model not simply as a digital reproduction, but as a research environment. It enables scholars and conservators to inspect details of the painted surface, wooden support, condition, spatial relationships and painting technique at scales and viewing positions that are normally impossible within the church itself.
Method
The vault was documented through a combination of photogrammetry and LiDAR.
Photogrammetry was used to record the painted surface at high resolution, capturing colour, surface texture, wood structure, damage and painting-related details. LiDAR was used to document the geometry of the church interior and to position the photographic documentation accurately within its architectural context.
The acquisition followed a systematic and reproducible workflow, with controlled image overlap, comprehensive coverage of the vault and consistent recording of acquisition conditions. The photographic and spatial datasets were subsequently combined into a detailed three-dimensional representation of the church and its painted ceiling.
By integrating high-resolution photographic documentation with spatial measurement, the resulting model is both visually detailed and suitable for research. It provides a persistent digital record that can continue to be examined after scaffolding and other forms of physical access have been removed.
Results
The project resulted in a large-scale, high-resolution 3D model of the painted vault and its architectural surroundings. From this dataset, ArtLab developed digital research and presentation environments in which the paintings can be explored interactively.
The model also formed the basis for a Virtual Reality experience, allowing users to move through the church and view the painted ceiling from otherwise inaccessible positions. In this way, the same research dataset can support art-historical study, conservation documentation, education and public engagement.
Education and training
The project also served as the case study for the Summer School Digital Art History. Twelve early-career researchers from universities across the Netherlands received hands-on training in digital heritage documentation, 3D modelling and art-historical research on location.
Rather than working with an artificial teaching dataset, participants contributed to an active cultural heritage research project with direct relevance for conservation, scholarship and public access. The summer school therefore brought together research, education and societal impact within a single project.
The training was organised in collaboration with international specialists from Factum Foundation.
Collaboration
This project was carried out by Utrecht University ArtLab in collaboration with the Onderzoeksschool Kunstgeschiedenis, Grote Kerk Naarden, Factum Foundation and conservators Hinke Sigmond and Roos Keppler.