  This work presents the development of a flexible microscopic chemical imaging
platform for cultural heritage that utilizes wavelength-tunable oblique
illumination from a point source to obtain per-pixel reflectance spectra in the
VIS-NIR range. The microscope light source can be adjusted on two axes allowing
for a hemisphere of possible illumination directions. The synthesis of multiple
illumination angles allows for the calculation of surface normal vectors,
similar to phase gradients, and axial optical sectioning. The extraction of
spectral reflectance images with high spatial resolutions from these data is
demonstrated through the analysis of a replica cross-section, created from
known painting reference materials, as well as a sample extracted from a
painting by Pablo Picasso entitled La Mis\'ereuse accroupie (1902). These case
studies show the rich microscale molecular information that may be obtained
using this microscope and how the instrument overcomes challenges for spectral
analysis commonly encountered on works of art with complex matrices composed of
both inorganic minerals and organic lakes.
