Reconstructing and Presenting Bernini's Borghese Sculptures

Roland Kuck, Fraunhofer Institute for Media Communication, Germany
Manfred Bogen, Fraunhofer Institute for Media Communication, Germany

Demonstration: Demonstrations - Session 2

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) created four sculptures specifically for the Galleria Borghese in Rome from 1618-1625. Although Bernini wanted these sculptures to be experienced individually, he also designed them to interact. Current visitors of the museum are not able to experience this, as the position of the sculptures has been changed numerous times in history and the original setup has been lost.

A co-operative project involving the Galleria Borghese, the University of Siegen, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Media Communication has the aim of reconstructing these four sculptures and presenting them in a virtual environment. In contrast to the real sculptures, the virtual four sculptures can be moved around freely. This ranges from changing the height of the base, which has a drastic effect on the perception of the sculptures, to changing the environment to represent the look of the Galleria Borghese in the early 17th century.

Currently two sculptures have been reconstructed - the David and Enea e Anchise. Additional to the small geometric details represented in the model, the dataset includes a representation for the surface and its processing - used by Bernini e.g. to separate 'skin' from 'cloth'. Multiple light and model positions can be tested and viewed in real-time, including correct simulation of subsurface scattering effects and global illumination.