A person's face after death would be placed in a wax or plaster mold to create a "death mask" .
Isaac Newton was one of the greatest mathematicians and scientists in human history. His theories of motion, the law of universal gravitation. dominated physics and science for more than two centuries before being replaced by the theory of relativity.
Portrait of Isaac Newton through a painting. (Photo: Getty Images).
Until now, Newton's image has been preserved mainly in the form of busts, paintings, engravings. from a long time ago. However, if only based on the above works of art, it is relatively difficult and inaccurate to describe Newton's real-life appearance.
To solve this problem, sculptors of that time used a technique called "death masks". This method dates back to ancient Rome, and was mainly applied only to the nobility and royalty.
Through this method, a person's face after death will be placed in a wax or plaster mold to "print" each line meticulously and accurately.
3D scans of Newton's "death mask" reveal detailed facial features. (Photo: Microsoft)
According to IFL Science , the Royal Society of England currently owns a mask of Newton, which was previously owned by Louis-François Roubiliac - a French sculptor.
Roubiliac was also the artist who sculpted the marble bust of Newton, which is now on display at Trinity College, Cambridge (UK). However, he did not create the unique mask mentioned above.
Instead, many documents claim that a close friend of Newton's, named Michael Rysbrack, did this after he died and was buried in Westminster Abbey, London (England).
In 2012, computer experts at Microsoft also used the Xbox Kinect device to 3D scan Newton's "death mask" , and then were able to create an accurate model of his face.
