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Ancient sculptures once painted in vivid tones now stand white as ghosts. Paintings and textiles fade over time, and the pigments in early colour photographs gradually degrade.
“Colour is not simply an aesthetic layer,” says PERCEIVE project coordinator Sofia Pescarin from the Institute of Heritage Science of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR ISPC). “It carries historical, symbolic and emotional meaning. When colours disappear or change, our understanding of the past changes with them. This can lead to distorted interpretations, from the long-standing idea of ‘white antiquity’ to the difficulty of explaining how fragile works should be exhibited without accelerating their deterioration.”
Museums and heritage professionals face a double challenge. They need reliable scientific methods to analyse and predict colour change, and they also need engaging ways to share this knowledge with visitors. A reconstruction that looks convincing is not enough, notes Pescarin – it must be transparent about evidence, uncertainty and interpretation.
New tools and methods to recover colours
PERCEIVE was launched to address these challenges. Coordinated by the CNR, the project brought together research centres, universities, museums and creative industry partners to apply new tools and methods to recover the colours of the past. These included artificial intelligence-based processing, image-based rendering, and three-dimensional (3D) visualisation.
“The work focused on five types of heritage problems or scenarios,” explains Pescarin. These were: lost colour in ancient sculpture and architecture; colour change in paintings; fading historical textiles; historical photography and film; and born-digital art (i.e., materials that originated in digital form). This allowed the team to test its methods across very different materials, institutions and conservation problems.
A number of tools and services designed for both specialists and wider audiences came out of this work. These include the Colour Knowledge Repository, a (FAIR) compliant digital resource for sharing colour-related data, models and metadata, and the PERCEIVE Platform, which connects digital tools and services such as MuLaX for multilayer web 3D visualisation, and the Light Damage Estimator for preventive conservation. Other tools were also made accessible, such as those for restoring early colour photographs and films (autochromes / Kodacolors) as well as for colour simulation and reconstruction.
Multisensory experiences
PERCEIVE also developed a Design Toolbox to help museums, designers and educators create meaningful digital and hybrid experiences. “Rather than treating visitors as passive viewers, the project explored how digital heritage can foster care, authenticity and participation,” remarks Pescarin.
These ideas were demonstrated in public exhibitions that made use of the tools and reused the restored digital assets. These included an exhibition designed by the CNR and the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, which took visitors on two sensory journeys. The first explored the colours of the Temple of Isis in Pompeii using 3D visualisation (The Gifts of Isis), while the second showed the complexity of colour studies and reconstruction (Echoes of Loss).
Similarly, ‘Tiny Conservators’, a temporary exhibition at the Munch Museum in Oslo, used game-based interactions to explain conservation challenges. The ‘Fragile Colours’ exhibition at NTNU University Museum in Trondheim highlighted the challenges of restoring and conserving the colours of autochrome photographs, while demonstrating the potential of digital colour-restoring tools.
From theory to real-world demonstration
For Pescarin and her team, a key success of the project has been to move beyond theory into real-world demonstration. At the 2025 Digital Heritage Awards in Siena, the ‘Perceive Isis’ Colours’ exhibit received the prize for Best Digital Heritage Exhibition.
“The next step is to bring these methods into everyday museums and professional practice,” adds Pescarin. “We think that PERCEIVE’s results can support conservators, exhibition designers, educators and digital archivists, to name a few. The work will also continue through related European research, including COLOURS, which builds on PERCEIVE’s outcomes.”