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| Comparison of positive (left) and negative (right) photos |
The Shroud of Turin (or Sindone, from the Greek σινδών, shroud) is traditionally thought to be the shroud that covered the body of Christ during the three days that he was buried between his death on the cross and his resurrection. The documented part of its history begins in 1357, when it was exhibited for the first time in Lirey (France). In 1453 it was sold to the Duke of Savoy. In 1532 it was damaged in a fire, and in 1578 was transferred to Turin, where it is located today. Although the Catholic Church allows its veneration, it has never pronounced either in favor or against the authenticity of the Shroud, which from the beginning was the subject of controversy, as some claimed it was a contemporary painting, while others considered it authentic.
In 1898 the Shroud was photographed for the first time and the image was found to be much sharper on negatives than on positives, so the original image appears to be roughly equivalent to a photographic negative.
