The world's leading infrared reflectography cameras

Revealing the unseen

Infrared Reflectography (IRR) is a non-invasive method of studying a painting by looking beneath the visible layers of paint, allowing you to examine the underdrawing along with any changes or pentimenti present in the work.

The ‘reflect’ element of reflectography refers to the reflection of a light source from the ground beneath a painting. Some of the incident infrared light is absorbed by the carbon-rich material that makes up the underdrawing. The rest is simply reflected back towards the camera. This is what generates the contrast in the image.

When visible light is used to illuminate a painting, the absorption and scattering by the paint layers are generally so high that the paint is all we see. By shining an infrared light source at a painting and recording the light reflected back, we can see through the paint and study otherwise invisible elements of the painting and its composition.

The cameras developed by Opus Instruments allow us to build on these techniques with exceptionally high resolution images and improved sensitivity to reveal a painting’s secrets like never before.