The international art centre pariétal de Montignac will offer an almost complete reconstruction of the “Sistine Chapel of Prehistory” …
After Lascaux II , a facsimile of the original cave opened in 1983 and Lascaux III, a traveling exhibition that allowed to travel replicas of the cave, Lascaux IV, an international center for housing rock art is almost complete which will include a reconstruction of the “Sistine Chapel of Prehistory” will open its doors to the public on 15 December 2016 in Montignac in the Dordogne.
At least one year of this opening, this extensive project whose contours were designed by the Norwegian architectural firm Snohetta, is accurate. If Lascaux II already reproduced much of the rock paintings, Lascaux IV, at the foot of the hill of Lascaux, will allow visitors to admire all the frescoes and engravings, with the exception of one part, located in a narrow passage inaccessible and could not be reproduced.
900 m2 of walls reproduced
Since the beginning of 2013, a team of about thirty craftsmen of the workshop Facsimile Périgord (AFSP) is working to replicate 900 m2 of walls of this heritage site outside the norm. “There was a laser readings campaign to get the original cave 3D model and in parallel, pictures were taken and mapped 3D model,” says Francis Ringenbach, art director, production manager and chief project within the AFSP.From these data, the elements are drawn to scale 1 in a workshop.
Enriched visit to digital content
“Digital will be more during the visit to the centre. Films can be triggered by visitors posing hands on a sign or pressing their foot in one place. There will be an immersive 3D tracking system for dynamic management of the visit, “explains Patrick Guillemoteau, regional adviser for information and communications technology (ICT).
The route proposed in the clone of the original cave will be identical but compared to Lascaux II, the lighting should highlight details. “You’ll really like being in the Lascaux Cave” promises Ringenbach Francis.
In addition to the facsimile of the cave, visitors will have access to exhibition halls and digital spaces on wall art.
