New research challenges traditional claims about the Shroud of Turin

Researchers are examining the Shroud of Turin as a painting rather than a burial cloth, multiple news outlets report.

Previous studies have sought to determine if the centuries-old linen shroud actually bears the image of the crucified Jesus Christ.

A new study employed open-source 3D modeling to test how the image would appear if a real human body had been covered by it.

Brazilian researcher Cicero Moraes found that the image would not have been imprinted as it appears if the shroud had been draped on a corpse, demonstrating how the image would have been captured in the fabric.

Scholars have long debated the shroud’s authenticity, noting that the Gospels do explicitly mention the shroud.

Three specialists on the shroud of Turin — Tristan Casabianca, Emanuela Marinelli and Alessandro Piana — said Mr. Moraes’ analysis is flawed.

They point out that his study ignored key physical and chemical features, along with the evidence of real blood that is not in line with medieval artistic practice at the time, the Vatican News Reports.

Multiple studies have shown that blood could not create such an image.