Applying Quaternions to Recognize Hidden Details in Images: Rothko as a Case Study

Images or paintings with homogeneous colors may appear dull to the naked eye; however, there may be numerous details in the image that are expressed through subtle changes in color. This manuscript introduces a novel approach that can uncover these concealed details via a transformation that increas...

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Main Authors: Adam Aharony, Ron Hindi, Maor Valdman, Shai Gul
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-05-01
Series:Mathematical and Computational Applications
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8747/28/3/66
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author Adam Aharony
Ron Hindi
Maor Valdman
Shai Gul
author_facet Adam Aharony
Ron Hindi
Maor Valdman
Shai Gul
author_sort Adam Aharony
collection DOAJ
description Images or paintings with homogeneous colors may appear dull to the naked eye; however, there may be numerous details in the image that are expressed through subtle changes in color. This manuscript introduces a novel approach that can uncover these concealed details via a transformation that increases the distance between adjacent pixels, ultimately leading to a newly modified version of the input image. We chose the artworks of Mark Rothko—famous for their simplicity and limited color palette—as a case study. Our approach offers a different perspective, leading to the discovery of either accidental or deliberate clusters of colors. Our method is based on the quaternion ring, wherein a suitable multiplication can be used to boost the color difference between neighboring pixels, thereby unveiling new details in the image. The quality of the transformation between the original image and the resultant versions can be measured by the ratio between the number of connected components in the original image (<i>m</i>) and the number of connected components in the output versions (<i>n</i>), which usually satisfies <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mfrac><mi>n</mi><mi>m</mi></mfrac><mo>≫</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. Although this procedure has been employed as a case study for artworks, it can be applied to any type of image with a similar simplicity and limited color palette.
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spelling doaj.art-e7b4090a9e624e06bbec2a9656cdbe3a2023-11-18T11:29:51ZengMDPI AGMathematical and Computational Applications1300-686X2297-87472023-05-012836610.3390/mca28030066Applying Quaternions to Recognize Hidden Details in Images: Rothko as a Case StudyAdam Aharony0Ron Hindi1Maor Valdman2Shai Gul3Department of Applied Mathematics, Holon Institute of Technology, 52 Golomb St., Holon 5810201, IsraelDepartment of Applied Mathematics, Holon Institute of Technology, 52 Golomb St., Holon 5810201, IsraelDepartment of Applied Mathematics, Holon Institute of Technology, 52 Golomb St., Holon 5810201, IsraelDepartment of Applied Mathematics, Holon Institute of Technology, 52 Golomb St., Holon 5810201, IsraelImages or paintings with homogeneous colors may appear dull to the naked eye; however, there may be numerous details in the image that are expressed through subtle changes in color. This manuscript introduces a novel approach that can uncover these concealed details via a transformation that increases the distance between adjacent pixels, ultimately leading to a newly modified version of the input image. We chose the artworks of Mark Rothko—famous for their simplicity and limited color palette—as a case study. Our approach offers a different perspective, leading to the discovery of either accidental or deliberate clusters of colors. Our method is based on the quaternion ring, wherein a suitable multiplication can be used to boost the color difference between neighboring pixels, thereby unveiling new details in the image. The quality of the transformation between the original image and the resultant versions can be measured by the ratio between the number of connected components in the original image (<i>m</i>) and the number of connected components in the output versions (<i>n</i>), which usually satisfies <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mfrac><mi>n</mi><mi>m</mi></mfrac><mo>≫</mo><mn>1</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. Although this procedure has been employed as a case study for artworks, it can be applied to any type of image with a similar simplicity and limited color palette.https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8747/28/3/66quaternionsconnected componentspattern recognition
spellingShingle Adam Aharony
Ron Hindi
Maor Valdman
Shai Gul
Applying Quaternions to Recognize Hidden Details in Images: Rothko as a Case Study
Mathematical and Computational Applications
quaternions
connected components
pattern recognition
title Applying Quaternions to Recognize Hidden Details in Images: Rothko as a Case Study
title_full Applying Quaternions to Recognize Hidden Details in Images: Rothko as a Case Study
title_fullStr Applying Quaternions to Recognize Hidden Details in Images: Rothko as a Case Study
title_full_unstemmed Applying Quaternions to Recognize Hidden Details in Images: Rothko as a Case Study
title_short Applying Quaternions to Recognize Hidden Details in Images: Rothko as a Case Study
title_sort applying quaternions to recognize hidden details in images rothko as a case study
topic quaternions
connected components
pattern recognition
url https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8747/28/3/66
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