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| Morgagni's Digital Facial Reconstruction |
The face of Giovanni Battista Morgagni was showcased at FACCE exhibit since February 2015, however its official presentation took place on May 27th, at the facilities of the Museum of Anthropology of the University of Padua, as part of a cycle of lectures about the exhibit, which was held until June 14.
The lecture L’identificazione molecolare dei resti di Morgagni e la ricostruzione forense del suo volto (Molecular identification and facial reconstruction of the remains of Morgagni) was presented by Dr. Luca Bezzi, Arc-Team's archaeologist and researcher, and Alberto Zanatta, one of the scientists responsible for the identification of the remains of Morgagni. Read the research paper here.
Meanwhile in Brazil, artist Mari Bueno gave the finishing touches on the 3D printed face of the great Italian scientist.
The artist worked from a print sent by CTI Renato Archer.
There were some schedule alterations with the Italian staff during the
work. Initially the bust was to be presented in April this year. CTI
printed a test within the deadline we had for painting and shipping it
to Italy being, however the 3D print had small irregularities on its
surface. CTI's head of the sector suggested a new print, but as time was
tight, I asked them to send me the piece anyway, as I could correct
irregularities manually. It was difficult to convince the DT3D staff to
send the bust, as they did not want an impression with irregularities to
be shipped (this agency really focuses on quality standards), but at
that time we had no alternative. I take this opportunity to thank the
CTI for their support and partnership, without it this job would prove
nearly impossible to be done.
Initially I thought it would be enough sand the bust, and the
problem of irregularities would be resolved, but you cannot imagine,
dear reader, how hard this material actually is. It simply destroyed 3
sanding sheets of coarse granulation, but barely changed its surface! I
had to apply 3 layers of spackling material, waiting one day for each
layer to be completely dry.
I was finally able to sand the surface and it got smoother. The bust was ready to be painted.
Day after day the layers were superimposed in order to approach the
characteristics of the digital facial reconstruction, but at the same
time respecting the style of the artist.
The first layers of the eyes began to emerge.
The enhancement of expression marks by creating new layers.
Finishing touches, and...
Ecco il volto di Morgagni in 3D! Here's Morgagni's face in 3D!
I greatly acknowledge Mari Bueno, who agreed to support us in this
project. Just as St. Anthony's 3D print, this painting was also
excellent and effectively gave the scientist's eyes a beautiful glow.
But the story does not end here...
Mari Bueno, as shown in the video above, went to Padua where she would meet Dr. Alberto Zanatta to hand him the painted bust.
The two seized the occasion and visited the exhibit FACCE. i molti volti della storia umana.
She could finally see the Saint Anthony's bust she retouched. The
very same bust that originally would be presented in Sinop (Brazil), but came
across the people of Padova and ended up staying there.
I'm
really glad to see the results of all this work. A year ago I was in
Padova, in the most important journey of my life, at that moment I had
no idea about everything that would happen in the meantime, so many joys
and honors, many partnerships in the name of science that ended up
introducing me to great comrades..
I am
very grateful to everyone who took part in this story and is already
included in advance on every single other that might take place from now
on. Greetings to my friends and "capos" of Arc-Team, Antrocom Onlus,
Antonian Studies Museum, CTI Renato Archer, Ebrafol - Brazilian Team of
Forensic Dentistry and Anthropology, as well as the Museum of
Anthropology at the University of Padua.
And thank very much to Dr. Paulo Miamoto from Brazil, to translate this text to English.
