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Arts & Communication

ARTICLE
Simulacra and historical fidelity in digital

recreation of lost cultural heritage:
Reconstituting period materialities for the

period eye

1
1
Trent Olsen * , James Hutson 2 , Charles O’Brien , and Jeremiah Ratican 3
1 Department of Art History and Visual Culture, Lindenwood University, Professor of Art History and
Visual Culture, Saint Charles, Missouri, United States of America
2 Department of Art, Art History, and Design, University of Alabama Huntsville, Assistant Professor of
Art, Huntsville, Alabama, United States of America
3 Department of Art, Media and Production, Associate Professor of Game Design, Lindenwood
University, Saint Charles, Missouri, United States of America

Abstract

The advancement of digital technologies in art history has opened avenues
for reconstructing lost or damaged cultural heritage, a need highlighted by
the deteriorated state of many artworks from the 1785 Salon. Grounded in the
concept of the “Period Eye” by art historian Michael Baxandall, which emphasizes
*Corresponding author: understanding artworks within their original historical and cultural contexts, this
Trent Olsen study proposes a subfield focused on Reconstituting Period Materialities for the
(tolsen@lindenwood.edu)
Period Eye. This methodology bridges comprehensive historical research with
Citation: Olsen T, Hutson J, generative visual artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, facilitating the creation
O’Brien C, Ratican J. Simulacra
and historical fidelity in digital and immersive virtual reality viewing of artworks. Beyond mere visual replication,
recreation of lost cultural heritage: the approach aims to recreate the material and textural realities of the period,
Reconstituting period materialities thereby enabling contemporary audiences to experience these works as they
for the period eye. Arts &
Communication. 2024;2(2):2719. were originally perceived. The process includes replicating building materials
doi: 10.36922/ac.2719 using Quixel Megascans, employing AI for generating images of lost artworks,
Received: January 12, 2024 and utilizing normal maps for simulating painting textures, all contributing to an
authentic reconstruction of the Salon’s ambiance and materiality. This approach,
Accepted: March 14, 2024 met with some skepticism from traditional historians and archeologists, asserts
Published Online: May 14, 2024 that such digital reconstitution, backed by rigorous empirical research and detailed
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). period-specific datasets, yields reconstructions of greater historical accuracy
This is an Open-Access article and contextual richness. This mirrors strides in sound archeology, endorsing a
distributed under the terms of the similar empirical approach in visual material recreation. The significance of this
Creative Commons Attribution-
Noncommercial License, permitting study is underscored by its potential to enrich our comprehension of historical
all non-commercial use, distribution, artworks through a “Period Eye,” blending historical insights with modern
and reproduction in any medium, technological innovation for a deeper understanding and appreciation of cultural
provided the original work is
properly cited. heritage.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with Keywords: Digital reconstruction; Cultural heritage; Generative visual artificial
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional intelligence; Period materialities; Period Eye
affiliations.

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/ac.2719