Manuscript art: the eye and the algorithm
The study of medieval manuscript art has been a traditional strength of the Department of History and Art and Architecture. The Book of Durrow and the Book of Kells are the most important examples of early medieval art in the College's possession. In recent times, insights and capabilities of mathematics and computing are being employed by researchers to analyse the specific design elements used in Insular art, the art form of Ireland from the 6th to 12th centuries.
The visual impact that this art style has on viewers relies principally on repetition of elements - spirals, crossings in knotwork, and maze-like designs in fretwork. Such pattern-repetition is a suitable subject for analysis by visual inspection aided by simple mathematical methods, or by computer vision algorithms. Researchers in the Department are pursuing both approaches.
One question that arises is whether the amount of similarity between 'very similar' interlace motifs can be measured. Such a measure would increase our knowledge of the intentions and aesthetic values of the artist. By scanning the motifs and identifying ribbons and their crossings using computer vision techniques, it is possible to produce numerical measures of agreement between the motifs. Similar work may be attempted by eye and hand, but the conclusions are open to human error and subjectivity. Using computer-based methods, it is also possible to quantify the amount of imperfection in the execution of the design of interlace. By contrast, in the task of de-constructing non-standard motifs in animal interlace, visual inspection and analysis are still ahead of artificial intelligence methods, but given time and effort, the computer may yet catch up. Research continues...
Images provided by or based on images by The Board of Trinity College Dublin