“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
Edgar Degas
Charles Byrne; on this page,
reconstructing Charles Byrne, the 'Irish giant'
booking, dates and venues here
RECONSTRUCTION OF CHARLES BYRNE, THE 'IRISH GIANT' Charles Byrne (1761–1783) or "The Irish Giant", became a celebrity in London in the 1780s. Byrne's exact height is of some conjecture, various accounts refer to him as from 2.48 to 2.54 m (8 ft 2 in to 8 ft 4 in) tall; however, skeletal evidence places him at just over 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in) He died at the age of 22, evidence from the skeleton suggests that he suffered from a pituitary tumour, which may have contributed to his gigantism. (or Acromegaly from the greek akros "extreme" and megalos "large") His skeleton was acquired by John Hunter and is displayed at the Hunterian Museum in London. I recently had the opportunity to study the 3d print they had taken from the original skull some years ago. Working in the laboratory I was able to take extensive measurements, drawings and photos in order to recreate the magnificent skull. Apart from its remarkable size, it has many unique features consistent with his condition. There is a scan taken some years ago held at the Natural History Museum, who proved to be very helpful and provided me with a copy of the data. The scan itself, although a good general record, is taken from ct scan data, this created a model with all the internal structure present, down to the cellular voids in the bone mass. It required many hours of adjustment, filling voids and remeshing before I could use it in the digital reconstruction opposite. I also hand sculpted an interpretation based on my own measurements, drawings, photographs and notes from the original. (you can see its progress in the slide show on the right) THE COURSE Students will have the opportunity to create their own portrait from the skull, this promises to be a fascinating and engaging workshop focussing upon a unique individual and the architecture of his skull. There are no detailed portraits of him, and therefore the recreation of this individual will be based on the particular features typical of his condition and expressed in the shape of the skull itself. Among these are the prominent flared jaw, huge frontal sinus and mastoid process; a cross section 3d scan shows a significant thickening to the occipital region. There is also a deep undercut between the nasal bone and the glabella, and the orbits are stretched, extended down and outwards. The skulls we work on will be cast from my wax original, in rigid sculptors foam which has a cellular structure, is very light and durable; perfect for our reconstruction. Students have a choice of media, plasticene (soft, very sensitive to surface texture, see photos of elderly female reconstruction) or wax (harder, needs to be warmed, but very responsive to subtle carving and very detailed work) Each student keeps their sculpt, along with the extensive portfolio of photos, drawings and notes taken during the process 2016 booking, dates and venues here |
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I thought I'd include this youtube video of a scene from the documentary 'Charles Byrne, the Irish Giant'; in which Professor Marta Korbonits looks at a 3D scan of the skull of Charles Byrne at the Natual History Museum in London. The skull was transported from the Hunterian Museum with permission from the museum trustees.
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