The 17th Century Flemish painter, Anthony van Dyck, has been brought back to 3 dimensions, thanks to the latest image processing techniques. In cooperation with Prof. Katlijne Van der Stighelen of the Art History department of KU Leuven, the PSI-VISICS group has been studying a painting of the artist as a young man. As part of his doctoral research �Generic 3D models for the parametrisation of the human face�, Michael De Smet has used a technique for extracting the three-dimensional shape of human faces from photographs and used it for this historic painting. This 3DMM technique is based on statistical information concerning the shape and the skin colour of human faces. These detailed statistics have been learned by studying a substantial database of high-resolution facial 3-D scans. By simulating the way in which light is reflected from the face, a computer algorithm is capable of automatically estimating the most probable shape of a person's face. So now it depends on how well the painter was able to capture the shape and colour of the face, whether the constructed 3D model is a life like representation of the real face. On the basis of the computer model, it is afterwards possible to compare different paintings and make it easier to identify the same person in different poses and different paintings. To view the 3D model in your webbrowser through 'unity' (only Windows and Mac), click here Furthermore the painting was also scanned with the already proven mini-dome scanner technique, which has been successfully used to scan cuneiform tablets. LED lights illuminated the paintings from different sides, while an overhead camera took pictures with the aim to discover the miniscule 3D information of the different layers of paint. The big challenge of the painting was, besides the minimal 3D information, the dark colour and the reflection of the varnish. On the basis of the information gathered this way, it is the goal of making it easier to view the brushstrokes, identify corrections and in general study the technique of the artist. To view the 3D model in your webbrowser through 'unity' (only Windows and Mac), click here More information on these techniques and the painting can be found on this website.