El Greco’s Risen Christ

Cristo Resucitado, the risen Christ, is one of the few sculptures made by Domínikos Theotokópoulos, better known as El Greco. The small wooden figure is displayed in a tabernacle, also crafted by El Greco, within the Hospital de Tavera, where it sits on the high altar overlooking Tavera’s sepulchre.

As part of the ongoing collaboration between Factum Foundation, the Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli, and the Auckland Project, Factum Foundation’s team used photogrammetry to record the sculpture and tabernacle.

As the top half of the tabernacle is missing, Factum's Jordi Garcia Pons worked with experts from the Hospital de Tavera to create two digital 3D models of the tabernacle, allowing for the exploration of two different options for completing the structure. A facsimile of Cristo Resuscitado and one of the reconstructions of the tabernacle will be shown in the Spanish Gallery at Bishop Auckland, UK. The recorded data will remain the property of the Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli.

The tabernacle © Factum Foundation

Render of the photogrammetry model for the tabernacle © Factum Foundation

[Left] Render of reconstruction option #1 © Factum Foundation – [Right] Render of reconstruction option #2 © Factum Foundation

Otto Lowe recording the sculpture using photogrammetry at the Hospital de Tavera © Tess Tomassini for Factum Foundation

Pedro Miro and Otto Lowe recording the statue using photogrammetry at the Hospital de Tavera © Tess Tomassini for Factum Foundation

Christ assembled from 3D printed parts © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation

Colour tests and references © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation

The CNC machine milling pieces of the structure on high-density polyurethane © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation

The CNC milling machine sculpting the tabernacle dome on high-density polyurethane © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation

Polyurethane pieces milled and ready to be assembled © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation

Plaster casts (white) beside a 3D printed model (grey) of an Ionic column feature © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation

Jordi Garcia Pons of Factum Arte assembling the archway of the tabernacle © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation

Jordi García Pons, Juan Carlos Arias and Damián López Rojo of Factum Arte adding the upper dome structure digitally recreated and printed by Factum © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation

Juan Carlos Arias, Adam Lowe and Jordi Garcia Pons examining the lost upper tier, recreated by Factum Arte based on recovered images of the complete work © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation