In 2020 and 2021, the results of two technology-based studies and the Holy Shroud study have a worldwide impact.
There have been countless attempts to recreate the faces of Jesus and Mary throughout history, but in 2020 and 2021, the results of two works are based on artificial intelligence software and research on the Shroud Saint Turin has resonated all over the world.
Face of Jesus
Dutch artist Bas Uterwijk presented, in 2020, a reconstruction of the face of Jesus Christ, performed using the neural software Artbreeder, which applies artificial intelligence to the data set provided. previous level. With this technique, Uterwijk depicts historical figures and even ancient monuments, trying to achieve the most realistic results possible.
Despite pursuing realism as a general guide, the artist emphasized, in statements to the British Daily Mail, that he considers his work more art than science: “I try to software control to achieve reliable results. I think of my work as an artistic interpretation rather than as historically and scientifically accurate images.”
In 2018, Italian researcher Giulio Fanti , professor of mechanical and thermal metrology at the University of Padua and scholar of the Holy Shroud, also presented a three-dimensional reconstruction of the figure of Jesus. , based on studies of mysterious relics preserved in Turin.
Mother Mary's face
In November 2021, Brazilian professor and stylist Átila Soares da Costa Filho presented the results of 4 months of research trying to achieve the look of the mother of Jesus. She also uses the latest in imaging and artificial intelligence technologies. based on data obtained from the in-depth study of the man of the Shroud of Turin.
Átila herself reported, in an exclusive interview with journalist Ricardo Sanches, of Aleteia Português, that among his main premises were the studies of American designer Ray Downing, who in 2010 participated in a project with the most advanced technology. discover the true face of man on the Shroud.
Attila commented: “To this day, Downing's results are considered the most authentic and most acclaimed of all the efforts ever made,” commented Attila, who based that face on and conduct experiments with artificial intelligence software and high-tech neural network system, convolution mechanism to change gender. Finally, he used other facial retouching programs and applied artistic retouching to define the ethnographic and anthropological figure of 2000-year-old Palestinian women without compromising what artificial intelligence has to offer.
The result is an amazing reconstruction of the face of the Virgin Mary in her youth.
The conclusion of Attila's project was confirmed by world-leading researcher and lecturer Barrie M. Schwortz, the official photographer of the Sturp Historical Project . At his invitation, the experiment was included in the portal Shroud.com , which is the largest and most important source of information about the Holy Shroud ever compiled – and Swortz is the founder and administrator. pellets.
Attempts to reconstruct the faces of Jesus and Mary have provoked important historical, scientific and theological debates, and sometimes reactions of surprise and controversy.