Perceptual enhancement of degraded Etruscan wall paintings

In this paper, we present a method for unsupervised digital image enhancement, finalized to the visual analysis of degraded Etruscan wall paintings. In many cases, original Etruscan wall paintings are not well-preserved and the simple photographic acquisition does not allow a successful visual investigation. The use of commercial softwares as image enhancers generally do not lead to satisfactory results. Here, we propose an algorithm based on a computational model of human vision, called Automatic Color Equalization (ACE). ACE allows an unsupervised filtering of the degraded wall paintings; it is able to equalize automatically color and contrast, allowing in this way an easier and more successful visual investigation.