Alexander as Helios

"I am a golden God!"—Robert Plant, overlooking the Sunset Strip

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This is my 3D capture of the Skulpturhalle Basel's plaster cast of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's marble head of Alexander as the sun god Helios.

The Getty Museum describes Alexander as "the first Greek ruler to understand and exploit the propagandistic powers of portraiture," carefully identifying himself with "characteristics that had been used earlier for the representation of gods and heroes."

The colossal head is either from second century Egypt, or it's a 19th century forgery—artifice heaped upon artifice.

No matter that it's not on public display at the Museum of Fine Arts; you can now forge your own.

—Cosmo Wenman
@CosmoWenman
cosmowenman.com
[email protected]

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I captured this work as part of my project, "Through A Scanner, Skulpturhalle." You can see the rest of the results at thingiverse.com/thing:83781

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For my own takes on "the propagandistic powers of portraiture" see: cosmowenman.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/life-size-3d-printed-portrait/ and cosmowenman.com/3DPPPPF.html

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Alexander der Grosse
Skulpturhalle Basel accession number 1170

Alexander der Grosse. Marmor. Römisch, nach einem hochhellenistischen Werk. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts

Plaster cast molded from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's Head of Alexander the Great or Helios, the sun god, either a Roman copy of a high Hellenic original, or 19th-century forgery. Accession number 95.68 .

Photographed with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and Sigma EX 50mm lens, September, 2013.

Processed with ReCap 360.

Edited with Blender.

Decimated with Project Memento.

471mm tall

1.7 million triangles before editing.

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The photo of Robert Plant shown above is by Peter Simon.

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My tips for using either ReCap or 123D Catch are here: cosmowenman.wordpress.com/2014/04/27/using-recap-or-123d/

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Thanks to the Skulpturhalle Basel museum, and thanks to Autodesk’s Reality Capture division, who sponsored this project, Through A Scanner, Skulpturhalle.

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