THE STUDY OF DONATELLO’S SCULPTURE OF SAN MARCO IN ORSANMICHELE (FLORENCE), THROUGH A THREE-DIMENSIONAL DIGITAL RECONSTRUCTION IN VISIBLE AND UV LIGHT.

Michelangelo Micheloni, Anna Livia Ciuffreda, Gabriela Simoni and Mattia Faiulo

Abstract 

The sculpture of San Marco was made by Donatello for the external tabernacle of Orsanmichele (Florence), at the request of the Arte dei Rigattieri and Linaioli in the early Renaissance. Don-atello sculpted it in a block of Carrara marble between 1411 and 1413. Recently, a restoration project admired by the Opificio delle Pietre Dure involved a detailed diagnostic project that was an important help to better understand Donatello’s work. 

Surrounded by this project, our tasks were to: 

– The morphology of the surface was scanned using high-precision laserscanners and a high-resolution photogrammetry, then we made the digital 3D model, and it became the basis on which we entered the data obtained from other diagnostic imaging investigations. 

– The 3D UV survey is an innovative investigation methodology for the investigation of three-dimensional works. We carried out a photographic acquisition campaign in visible light and UV fluorescence and UV reflectance, using a very high-resolution camera. From the photo-grammetry we created the 3D model in UV fluorescence and reflectance of the sculpture. 

– Digital reconstruction and 3D printing of the missing elements of the marble cushion sup-ported the restoration activities in order to integrate the missing parts of the sculpture. Through digital integration technique we have tried to create a probable reconstruction of portions of decorations that can help the public to imagine the sculpture no longer white but with decora-tions.