3D Modeling of Cultural Heritage Elements Displayed in a Museum Environment Using Close-Range Photogrammetry: The Louvre Museum Example

Abstract

Digital documentation of cultural heritage requires reliable, non-contact, and scalable methods capable of producing geometrically accurate and visually consistent three-dimensional (3D) models. In this study, the applicability of close-range photogrammetry (CRP) for the digital documentation of cultural heritage objects was evaluated based on results obtained from museum-based test applications. Three internationally renowned cultural heritage objects exhibited at the Louvre Museum were selected as test cases, representing different materials, scales, and surface characteristics. A CRP based workflow was implemented, including controlled image acquisition, Structure from Motion (SfM) orientation, Multi-View Stereo (MVS) based dense point cloud generation, mesh reconstruction, texture mapping, and metric scaling. The resulting 3D models were assessed using point cloud density, mesh structure, and texture quality as primary evaluation criteria. The results demonstrate that CRP can generate dense point clouds containing millions of points and produce detailed mesh models with consistent surface representation under controlled museum conditions. The findings reveal that object material and surface properties significantly influence model quality. High geometric continuity and texture consistency were achieved for marble artifacts, while reflective bronze surfaces led to localized mesh irregularities and minor texture degradation. Nevertheless, all models successfully preserved overall geometry, proportions, and visual recognizability. Variations in triangle density further indicated that image acquisition geometry and object complexity directly affect reconstruction resolution. Overall, the results confirm that CRP can produce scaled, photorealistic, and geometrically reliable 3D models of museum artifacts when appropriate acquisition and processing strategies are applied. The study highlights the potential of CRP as a practical digital documentation tool for cultural heritage, particularly within museum environments and tourism related applications, while emphasizing the importance of controlled conditions and method aware implementation.

Keywords

• Cultural heritage
• Tourism
• Digital documentation
• Close-range photogrammetry
• 3D modeling

Ethical Statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Thanks

The authors used ChatGPT (GPT-5.2 Thinking, OpenAI) to assist with language-related tasks (translation and grammar). No content generation affecting the study’s methodology, results, or conclusions was performed using the tool; the authors remain fully responsible for the manuscript’s content.

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