Gaby
A team of researchers led by renowned 3D designer Cicero Moraes has reconstructed the appearance of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the author of the “Divine Comedy.” The face of the man who described a journey through heaven, hell, and purgatory has been recreated in digital format.
Despite being regarded for centuries as an icon of Renaissance literature, with his detailed depiction of hell’s nine circles still considered a benchmark, the poet’s appearance remained shrouded in mystery until recently.
Cicero Moraes (born November 13, 1982) is a Brazilian 3D designer specializing in computer reconstructions of faces, as well as designing and modeling prosthetics for both humans and animals.
According to Moraes, all previous portrait representations of Dante Alighieri were based on his biography written by Giovanni Boccaccio. Boccaccio described Dante as being of average height, slightly hunched, with an elongated face, an eagle-like nose, and quite large eyes. However, Boccaccio did not know Dante personally. The information presented in the biography was gathered from people who were familiar with the poet, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Dante (in a red hood) visiting hell, in a painting from 1850 by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
How the Reconstruction Took Place
These biographical accounts were somewhat close to reality. However, the most accurate representation of Dante’s facial features was achieved only now, using his skull. Moraes’s team recreated the poet’s image by analyzing his bones from a 1921 study, supplemented by data from a scientific article published in 2007.
Moraes explained the reconstruction process: “We relied on facial approximation. This involves creating a series of predictions based on statistical data obtained from tomography and ultrasound analysis, and comparing them with anatomical deformations.”
The researchers created two sets of images of Dante Alighieri. One set is in shades of gray, depicting the poet without hair and with closed eyes. The other set is in color; to paint the eyes, skin, and clothing, the designer used the most famous portraits of the poet.
According to Cicero Moraes, the reconstruction revealed “a brilliant man, embittered by exile.” (Dante was exiled from his native Florence in 1302 and died in Ravenna in 1321).
While these details are familiar to us from many images, the reconstructed face of Dante Alighieri differs from our previous notions. The designer emphasized that the poet’s skull turned out to be larger than average. Some believe that a large brain is a sign of exceptional intelligence, Moraes noted. Although that’s not necessarily the case. Regardless, Dante was indeed a genius, the designer remarked.
“It is a great honor for me to work on his face; my great-grandparents were Italian, and my mother spoke Italian until she was 17,” Cicero Moraes shared. “In a way, this is a tribute to my family,” he added.
Cicero Moraes and his co-author Thiago Beini from the Federal University of Uberlândia (Brazil) published the results of their research in the journal 3D Computer Graphics OrtogOnLineMag.
