Louvre to Clone Michelangelo's Slaves for Loans and Commercial Use

The Louvre Museum in Paris is using advanced 3D scanning technology to create perfect replicas of two of its most famous sculptures: Michelangelo's 'Rebellious Slave' and 'Dying Slave'. The project, led by the museum's cutting-edge laboratory, aims to produce clones that can travel to other museums for exhibitions without removing the originals from the collection. The scanning device, Artec, captures 600 to 1,000 high-definition images per session, which are processed to generate a 3D model. The initiative marks a shift from previous uses of the technology for study and research to commercial purposes, including lending copies to other institutions. Starting September 2018, a replica of the Code of Hammurabi, also from the Louvre, will be displayed at the Baghdad Museum. The laboratory's director, Roeï Amit, claims the Louvre leads in this field, noting that the British Museum has only 200 objects in 3D digital reproduction with lower quality. The two Michelangelo sculptures, originally part of the tomb of Pope Julius II, were donated by the artist to Roberto Strozzi in 1546 and have remained in France since Strozzi's exile to Lyon.