Case Study: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco achieves vivid color restorations of classical sculpture with NEC Display Solutions

Museum Uses NEC Projector to Show Classical Artwork as Multicolored Masterpieces

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco faced the challenge of helping visitors see classical sculptures as their original, brightly painted selves rather than the familiar monochrome artifacts. To do this without applying paint or altering the objects, the museum turned to NEC Display Solutions and a NEC NP‑PA803U projector to explore color reconstruction in a gallery setting.

NEC Display Solutions supplied the NEC NP‑PA803U projector with interchangeable lenses and mapping features to project historically researched polychromy onto a 3D‑printed replica, fading between monochrome and color in a 12‑second cycle. The system ran about nine hours a day with no malfunctions, was managed via NaViSet, and helped the “Gods in Color” installation attract over 100,000 visitors in 10 weeks while becoming a highlighted, repeatable exhibit technique.

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Rich Rice

Director of Event and Exhibition Technology