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The Shroud
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The Shroud (from the Greek sindon, sheet) is a linen cloth (441 x 113 cm) on which two dark lines and numerous triangular holes are visible: traces of a fire that occurred in 1532 in Chambéry (France). Water stains are also noticeable. In the center, a double human figure, front and back, can be seen. An ancient tradition holds that the Shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus Christ. The cloth was in the possession of the House of Savoy from 1453 until 1983, when Umberto II donated it to the Pope. Since 1578, it has been kept in Turin. The photographic negative, thanks to the first photos taken by Secondo Pia in 1898, revealed the body’s features in greater detail and sparked scientific interest.
Numerous doctors have since been able to conduct a series of forensic investigations. From the chiaroscuro of the image, the three-dimensional shape of the body can be derived, a unique characteristic. Numerous bloodstains are also visible: it was the corpse of a man who had been scourged, crowned with thorns, crucified with nails, and pierced by a spear in the right side. The contact time between the body and the cloth has been estimated at around 36-40 hours.
Everything aligns with the narrative of the Passion of Jesus Christ in the Gospels. The origin of the human imprint, formed through a process of dehydration and oxidation of the superficial linen fibrils, remains a mystery. Some experiments suggest that the image could be explained as the effect of an extremely powerful light emitted from the body.
The first historically certain records of the Shroud’s existence date back to the mid-14th century, but there are substantial indications of its existence in earlier centuries. Moreover, the analysis of many artistic depictions of Jesus' face reveals striking similarities with that of the Shroud. For this reason, some experts believe that it served as the prototype for representations of the Lord’s face.
A group of scientists, the Shroud of Turin Research Project, examined the Shroud in 1978 using the most advanced scientific equipment of the time. In 1981, they published their findings in over 20 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, concluding that the Shroud had wrapped a real human body, flogged and crucified. The image is not the work of an artist. In 1988, the Shroud was dated using the Carbon-14 method, which placed it between 1260 and 1390 AD. However, this result is now considered unreliable for a fabric that has undergone the same history as the Shroud. Many other scientific studies, on the contrary, support its authenticity.
Professoressa Emanuela Marinelli
Professor Padre
Rafael Pascual
The photographic negative
The image of the Shroud we observe here is in positive, as it appears to the naked eye on the cloth. However, it is important to consider that the imprint of the Man of the Shroud was formed like the reflected image in a mirror. One clear example is the wound on the side. On the cloth, it appears on the left side, but this is due to the fact that the Body left a mirrored imprint.
To better understand the actual position of the wounds and other anatomical features, a simple horizontal flipping of the image is often used. This process allows the Man of the Shroud to be visualized as he would have appeared in reality, with the wound actually located on the right side.
Similarly, the printed photographic negative inverts the light and dark values, allowing the features of the Man of the Shroud to be correctly visualized.
Click on the image to view the flipping and the inversion of the light and dark values.
