since the Middle Ages, millions of Catholics have venerated the Shroud of Turin, believed to be the burial cloth that accompanied Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. its fame and holy stature come from it being a rare, physical memento of his human form, and it is the single most controversial piece of artefact in the history of man.
In 1898 a photographer discovered a more visible face of Jesus in the negative of his photos taken of the Shroud, throwing the holy cloth into further fame.
the Vatican has chosen to not comment on the Shroud's authenticity, but considers it an item of the Church and allows followers to idolise it.
after questions arose about it in the 20th century, the Vatican granted permission for a small piece of the cloth to be cut for carbon-dating. results from three independent, authoritative labs announced in 1988 ascertained it belonged to 1260-1390. from then the Shroud has been declared a fake, although there are still many believers.
some questions that were raised about it included that if it was Jesus' burial cloth wrapped around him, geometrically the impressions left on it should be warped, and not a nice-looking portrait. recent discoveries also compared the intricately-weaved cloth to other textiles found from the same period of time that are much simpler. this strengthened the argument that it was created much later than Jesus' death. scientists have also reproduced the Shroud with more than one feasible technique, including painting, photography and Maillard reaction.
but it was a masterpiece, nonetheless. the Shroud has fooled the whole world for generations, and i suspect will intrigue us for many more. forensic experts have verified how detailed and accurate the physical trauma shows on the man in the cloth, including around the eyes, the multiple wounds on the back, and of course the famous nail in the hand. scientists also claim only the work of a genius can fool them for so long. until 1978, an American study still called the production of the Shroud "a mystery".
who in medieval times was capable of pulling off a scam so perfect it has set scientists on a wild goose chase up till today?
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) is widely regarded as the most superior polymath in mankind's history. he was a puzzle of both an artist and a scientist, an architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, botanist and writer.
but he was also remembered for being a heretic, for distancing himself from the Church's doctrines, which the Renaissance Man felt was antiquated and restrictive. at the same time, Da Vinci was considered centuries ahead of his own time, a modern man who shaped much of modern discourse. combining the two, it is no wonder many conspiracy theorists believe the genius, sometimes considered a master forger, created the Shroud of Turin and has fooled the world for hundreds of years.
these theorists say Da Vinci's quest was to mock religion. by creating an idol that would be fervently and unquestionably worshipped by millions, he would have achieved debunking and exposing religion as mass superstition.
Lynn Picknett, a Shroud researcher, said: "The faker of the shroud had to be a heretic, someone with no fear of faking Jesus’ holy redemptive blood. He had to have a grasp of anatomy and he had to have at his fingertips a technology which would completely fool everyone until the 20th century."
if he's still alive, he would be most proud of his achievements. the Shroud has a lasting legacy. before it, images of Jesus came in all forms - clean shaven, short haired. but the Shroud provided the most definitive face of Christ, and left its mark as the prototype to follow.
the Vatican has chosen to not comment on the Shroud's authenticity, but considers it an item of the Church and allows followers to idolise it.
after questions arose about it in the 20th century, the Vatican granted permission for a small piece of the cloth to be cut for carbon-dating. results from three independent, authoritative labs announced in 1988 ascertained it belonged to 1260-1390. from then the Shroud has been declared a fake, although there are still many believers.
some questions that were raised about it included that if it was Jesus' burial cloth wrapped around him, geometrically the impressions left on it should be warped, and not a nice-looking portrait. recent discoveries also compared the intricately-weaved cloth to other textiles found from the same period of time that are much simpler. this strengthened the argument that it was created much later than Jesus' death. scientists have also reproduced the Shroud with more than one feasible technique, including painting, photography and Maillard reaction.
but it was a masterpiece, nonetheless. the Shroud has fooled the whole world for generations, and i suspect will intrigue us for many more. forensic experts have verified how detailed and accurate the physical trauma shows on the man in the cloth, including around the eyes, the multiple wounds on the back, and of course the famous nail in the hand. scientists also claim only the work of a genius can fool them for so long. until 1978, an American study still called the production of the Shroud "a mystery".
who in medieval times was capable of pulling off a scam so perfect it has set scientists on a wild goose chase up till today?
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) is widely regarded as the most superior polymath in mankind's history. he was a puzzle of both an artist and a scientist, an architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, botanist and writer.
but he was also remembered for being a heretic, for distancing himself from the Church's doctrines, which the Renaissance Man felt was antiquated and restrictive. at the same time, Da Vinci was considered centuries ahead of his own time, a modern man who shaped much of modern discourse. combining the two, it is no wonder many conspiracy theorists believe the genius, sometimes considered a master forger, created the Shroud of Turin and has fooled the world for hundreds of years.
these theorists say Da Vinci's quest was to mock religion. by creating an idol that would be fervently and unquestionably worshipped by millions, he would have achieved debunking and exposing religion as mass superstition.
Lynn Picknett, a Shroud researcher, said: "The faker of the shroud had to be a heretic, someone with no fear of faking Jesus’ holy redemptive blood. He had to have a grasp of anatomy and he had to have at his fingertips a technology which would completely fool everyone until the 20th century."
if he's still alive, he would be most proud of his achievements. the Shroud has a lasting legacy. before it, images of Jesus came in all forms - clean shaven, short haired. but the Shroud provided the most definitive face of Christ, and left its mark as the prototype to follow.
don't the timelines not match? although Da Vinci lived approximately a century later, some believe in his great fraud he would have ensured he acquired a considerably old cloth.
as the Shroud is seemingly a negative, one recent theory by Professor Nicholas Allen is that it was created through photography. far-fetched, you say? not really, considering the camera obscura, the modern-day camera's ancestor, was available in Da Vinci's time. further strengthening the theory is the Florentian's well-known obsession with optics.
so we're there. the forger had to have a grasp of physics, art and human anatomy. not forgetting a rigorous contempt of religion. Da Vinci was the perfect man.
if not Jesus, who is the face then? recent analysis by scholars have gone even further. we now all know Da Vinci made the world wonder (stupidly) at the immense beauty of Mona Lisa, when it is in fact his self-portrait. in his effort to make a joke out of Christianity, Da Vinci used his face again for the Shroud, as found by Dr Lillian Schwartz, the woman who made the Mona Lisa discovery. computer analysis showed that the face is an exact replica of his own features.
with that, he became God.
UPDATE
in recent years, more evidence leaning towards the argument that the Shroud is genuine has been found. one is that the 1988 test was flawed, since the corner that was cut could have been contaminated as the Shroud has gone through so much over the years. another is the discovery of Jesus' nearly-invisible death certificate on the cloth, a contemporary Jewish practice.
as the Shroud is seemingly a negative, one recent theory by Professor Nicholas Allen is that it was created through photography. far-fetched, you say? not really, considering the camera obscura, the modern-day camera's ancestor, was available in Da Vinci's time. further strengthening the theory is the Florentian's well-known obsession with optics.
so we're there. the forger had to have a grasp of physics, art and human anatomy. not forgetting a rigorous contempt of religion. Da Vinci was the perfect man.
if not Jesus, who is the face then? recent analysis by scholars have gone even further. we now all know Da Vinci made the world wonder (stupidly) at the immense beauty of Mona Lisa, when it is in fact his self-portrait. in his effort to make a joke out of Christianity, Da Vinci used his face again for the Shroud, as found by Dr Lillian Schwartz, the woman who made the Mona Lisa discovery. computer analysis showed that the face is an exact replica of his own features.
with that, he became God.
UPDATE
in recent years, more evidence leaning towards the argument that the Shroud is genuine has been found. one is that the 1988 test was flawed, since the corner that was cut could have been contaminated as the Shroud has gone through so much over the years. another is the discovery of Jesus' nearly-invisible death certificate on the cloth, a contemporary Jewish practice.
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