Richard III: Is this the face that launched 1,000 myths?
February 5, 2013 -- Updated 1509 GMT (2309 HKT)
The Richard III Society commissioned the reconstruction -- which was unveiled before media in
London Tuesday -- after remains believed to be those of the medieval
king were discovered under in a parking lot in Leicester, England.
Scientists announced Monday that DNA testing had established that the skeleton was indeed that of Richard III.
Since his death at the
Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, Richard III has been portrayed as
hunchbacked and hateful, accused of killing his own nephews, the
"Princes in the Tower," to usurp the throne.
Researcher: 'Feeling' led to Richard III
How scientists 'rebuilt' the face of a king
Skeletal remains are of Richard III
Tracking down Richard III's remains
But the Richard III
Society believes the monarch has been unfairly maligned by history and
in particular the Tudors who ousted him.
It says its
three-dimensional model of the king shows a face "far removed from the
image of the cold-blooded villain of Shakespeare's play."
Society chairman Dr. Phil
Stone told reporters in London that the discovery and identification of
the monarch had been "a momentous time" for the society. He praised
screenwriter Philippa Langley's "tenacity and bloody-mindedness" in
pursuing the project to locate his remains.
Langley said her aims had
been two-fold -- to try to find Richard III so that his remains could
be retrieved from an "undignified place" and to "go in search of the
real Richard III."
Seeing the facial
reconstruction, she said, had been the most important moment. "It was
the biggest moment because suddenly the aim of seeing the real Richard
III came true. That's a man who is three-dimensional in every sense."
In a statement, she said: "The experience was breathtaking -- one of the most overwhelming moments of my life.
"I wasn't alone in finding this an approachable, kindly face, almost inviting conversation."
Caroline Wilkinson, Professor of Craniofacial Identification at the University of Dundee led the reconstruction project.
In a statement, she said
Richard III's facial structure was based on "anatomical assessment and
interpretation, and a 3D replication process known as
stereolithography."
"The final head was
pained and textured with glass eyes and a wig, using the portraits as
reference, to create a realistic and regal appearance."
Janice Aitken -- from
the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design at the University of
Dundee -- said CT scans of the monarch's skull had been used to build
the reconstruction, 70% of which was within 2mm accuracy.
Aitken then painted his face.
"He is just a human being. Human beings have certain characteristics -- you can use artistic licence to make assumptions."
"The most useful references were the faces of contemporaries. At one point I used my son."
Aitken said Langley had
been clearly "taken aback" when she saw the reconstruction for the first
time and that the Richard III Society's reaction as a whole had been
"extremely gratifying."
Stone said in a
statement that the face was "younger and fuller than we have been used
to seeing, less careworn and with a hint of a smile."
Richard III seemed "alive and about to speak," he said.
"At last, it seems, we have the true image of Richard III -- is this the face that launched a thousand myths?"
Sarah Levitt, head of
Leicester City Council's Arts and Museum division said the
reconstruction had the presence of a "living, breathing man."
It would be given "pride
of place" in the Richard III visitors center due to open in the central
England city next year, she said.
Read more: updatallnews
No comments:
Post a Comment