Saint Nicholas of Myra was an early Christian saint whose reputation as a gift-giver inspired the popular Dutch figure of Sinterklaas, who later became Santa Claus or Father Christmas.
However, it does not survive no representation of the man behind the myth of his time, and most representations of old Saint Nicholas date from centuries after his death in 343 AD. c.
Now his living face can be seen for the first time since the days of the late Roman Empire after a digital artist specialized in forensic anatomy has recreated his features using his skull.
The Brazilian Cicero Moraesthe main author of the work, explains that that of Saint Nicholas was a “strong and gentle face”, as stated The Sun.
“The skull has a very robust appearance, generating a strong face, since its dimensions on the horizontal axis are older than the average,” explains Moraes.
“This feature, combined with a thick beardis very reminiscent of the figure we have in mind when we think of Santa Claus,” says the Brazilian artist and scientist.
To create the face, Moraes and his team used data collected in the 1950s by Luigi Martinowith authorization from the Centro Studi Nicolaiani.
“We initially reconstructed the skull in 3D using this data. We then traced the profile of the face using statistical projections”, Moraes continues.
“We complete this with the technique of anatomical deformationin which the CT scan of a living person’s head is adjusted so that the virtual donor’s skull matches that of the saint. The final face is an interpolation of all this information, seeking anatomical and statistical coherence,” he says.
Initially buried in Myra, Türkiye, his bones They were later transferred to Bari, Italywhere they remain today.
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