Image Formation on the Holy Shroud—A Digital 3D Approach

Bibliographic Data

ID7147434
AuthorsCicero Moraes (0000-0002-9479-0028, Arc‐Team Chapecó Brazil, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume68
Issue1
Pages84-93
Publication date2026-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeometry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-813X • E-ISSN: 1475-4754
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/arcm.70030
OpenAlexW4412834566
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited24

This study investigates the origin of the image imprinted on the Shroud of Turin, a linen artifact displaying the frontal and dorsal figures of an adult man with marks of physical violence, using 3D digital simulations. Through free and open‐source software, parametric modeling of a human body, fabric dynamics simulation, and contact area mapping were performed. Two scenarios were compared: the projection of a three‐dimensional human model and that of a low‐relief model. The results demonstrate that the contact pattern generated by the low‐relief model is more compatible with the Shroud's image, showing less anatomical distortion and greater fidelity to the observed contours, while the projection of a 3D body results in a significantly distorted image. The accessible and replicable methodology suggests that the Shroud's image is more consistent with an artistic low‐relief representation than with the direct imprint of a real human body, supporting hypotheses of its origin as a medieval work of art

Archaeology · Art · Artifact (error) · Computer graphics (images) · Computer vision · Distortion (music) · Fidelity · Geography · Image (mathematics) · Projection (relational algebra) · Shroud · Artificial Intelligence · Cold Fusion and Nuclear Reactions · Computer Science · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction

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