Digital cradle removal in X-ray images of art paintings

We introduce an algorithm that removes the deleterious effect of cradling on X-ray images of paintings on wooden panels. The algorithm consists of a three stage procedure. Firstly, the cradled regions are located automatically. The second step consists of separating the X-ray image into a textural and image component. In the last step the algorithm learns to distinguish between the texture caused by the wooden cradle and the texture belonging to the original painted wooden panel. The results obtained with our method are compared with those obtained manually by best current practice.