Melusina Sculpture - 3D Scan of the Luxembourg Legend by makefast

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Moien!
After spending a few years in Luxembourg (in the Grund neighborhood), we grew fond of the story of Melusina, the legend of a mermaid who lived in the Bock over 1000 years ago.
In October 2015, a beautiful, modern statue of Melusina by the artist Serge Ecker was unveiled by the banks of the Alzette across from the Abbaye de Neumünster.
While the original artwork belongs to Serge and the city of Luxembourg (and is well worth the trip!), the modern age allows photographers to not only take 2D pictures, but also 3D images that we in the maker community can use to print our own little pieces of history.
Thanks to AceShooting, we were able to use data from a 3D scan of Ecker's Melusina sculpture and recreate a miniature desktop version. While lacking the crisp faceted details of the original, it's a fantastic memento to keep the Luxembourgish legend alive, even on the other side of the globe.
File Overview
There are 3 files ready for printing:
MelusinaLuxembourg_v00: This is the original scan, simply scaled and rotated to allow for printing. Note that it should be shifted 4.2mm down so that it touches the build plate and doesn't require any support. Also note that it includes some noticeable defects under Melusina's right arm from scanned artifacts in the image (likely reflections/shadows).
MelusinaLuxembourg_v04: This is close to the original scan, but also includes the rectangular base to improve strength of the mermaid's tail when printed small. The defects under the right arm are slightly improved but still noticeable.
MelusinaLuxembourg_v12: This is the fully cleaned-up version, ready for printing (shown in blue PLA in the images above).
With the photographer's permission, the original 3D scan object data (Melusina luxembourg Statue 3D Scan.obj) is also included.
3D Scan Details
AceShooting used a Nikon D800 camera with a Nikkor 24-70mm Lens, f2.8 at 24mm. The pictures were then combined using Agisoft photoscan software to recreate a 3D scene.
Some related links on how to turn photos into 3D images:
3D scan lessons learned
3D scan of a building using a drone in Luxembourg
Hyperlapse test
Other 3D models by AceShooting around Luxembourg:
Gallery of 3D scans
Vianden Castle
A 3D scan of Esch-sur-Sûre, Luxembourg
Testing 3D model reconstruction from pictures
The Luxembourgish Melusina Story
To quote a translation of a Luxembourgish text from 1883:

Many hundreds of years ago a noble knight, Count Siegfried, lived at Körich Castle. Once he lost his way while hunting, and toward evening he found himself in a narrow, deep, and wildly overgrown valley. This was the Valley of the Alzette at the place where today the suburbs of Luxembourg City picturesquely blend with the cliffs.
Rising before him, the count could see sheer rock cliffs, upon which stood the ruins of an ancient Roman castle. Suddenly the sounds of wonderful singing fell upon the startled knight's ears. After listening for a time, the count hurried in the direction that the sounds were coming from, and soon he discovered a maiden sitting among the castle's ruins. Captivated by her beauty, he stood still. It was Melusina, the Nixie of the Alzette. With a fixed gaze Siegfried stared at the otherworldly vision.
Seeing the handsome knight, the maiden covered her face with her green veil, then disappeared with the last rays of the evening sun.
Overcome with fatigue, Count Siegfried lay down beneath a tree and fell asleep. The next morning the song of a bird awoke him from a blissful dream. He got up and followed the river. He soon found himself in the familiar vicinity of Weimerskirch, and from there he returned straight away to his homeland.
The vision of the beautiful maiden and her wonderful singing had mightily captivated the count's soul. He often returned to the place, now very dear to him, in order to see her and hear her again. Once he met her in the valley, for she took pleasure in the count's visits, and she had fallen in love with the handsome knight.
He rushed toward her, declared his love for her, and asked her to become his wife. She consented under the condition that she not be required to leave the cliffs, and that he would never ask to see her on Saturdays, when she wished to be alone. Under oath the count promised this to her.
Siegfried entered into an agreement with the Abbot of St. Maximin near Trier to trade the former's fruitful commune of Feulen near Ettelbruck for the latter's infertile rocky cliffs and their surrounding woodlands.
Because it would have taken years of time and great expense to build a castle on the rocky cliffs, where he could take Melusina home as his wife, Siegfried gladly accepted the help of Satan, who offered to build the castle for him and make him exceedingly wealthy if the count would surrender himself after thirty years. At the top of the cliffs a magnificent castle appeared overnight, proudly looking down on the valley below.
Siegfried married the beautiful Melusina and lived happily with her. Melusina presented him with seven children.
However, every Saturday the nixie remained hidden from all eyes, retiring to her room and locking the door. This proceeded for many long years without her husband asking her what she was doing on those days.
However, his friends, who with time learned about the situation, planted seeds of distrust in the count against his good wife. Now, at any price, Siegfried wanted to know why Melusina withdrew from him every Saturday.
The next Saturday he secretly approached her room. From inside he could hear the sound of rushing and splashing water. Looking into the room through the keyhole he saw his wife in her bathtub combing her long blond hair with a golden comb. Her beautiful limbs ended with a horrible fishtail, with which she was splashing waves. The count uttered a cry of horror, and in the same moment Melusina sank into the depths of the cliffs. Siegfried had lost her forever.
They say that the nurse who was caring for Siegfried's and Melusina's youngest child often saw a white figure enter the room at night and rock the child to sleep.
Every seven years Melusina appears in human form in the upper world above the cliffs, asking the passers-by to redeem her. If this does not happen, the white figure soars over the city crying, "Not for another seven years!" then sinks back into the cliffs.
For this reason, when Luxembourg was still a fortress, sentry duty was so feared that even the bravest soldiers were terrified when they had to keep watch at night.
One time a courageous soldier who had traded shifts with a comrade was standing guard on the cliff-top between twelve and two o'clock in the night. Melusina appeared to him in the form of a beautiful maiden and asked him to redeem her. She told him that it would be a difficult, but not impossible, task. However, he should not attempt it if he thought that he might not succeed, because if he failed she would sink three times deeper into the earth. While she was thus speaking there arose a mighty rumbling sound around the cliffs, causing the soldier to fear that they were about to collapse.
The soldier promised to fulfill Melusina's wish, whatever he might have to do. She said that for the nine following days, every night at exactly twelve o'clock -- neither one minute earlier nor one minute later -- he would have to appear behind the altar of the Dominican Church. After he had done this nine times, on the tenth evening she would appear to him in the form of a fiery serpent with a key in her mouth. With his mouth he would have to take the key from her mouth and then throw it into the Alzette River, which would accomplish her redemption. This act would also restore the Roman castle atop the cliff in its former state.
For eight nights the soldier stood behind the appointed altar at precisely twelve o'clock, but on the ninth night he arrived late. Returning to his quarters he heard such howling and screeching coming from the cliffs that he thought all the wild animals were fighting one another in the air. However, no other person heard the noise.
It is also said that whenever Luxembourg City is threatened by danger or mishap, Melusina circles the cliffs while crying out mournfully.
Thus even to this day Melusina has not been redeemed. Woe unto the Luxembourg City if she is not someday redeemed. She will be redeemed only when she finishes the shirt that she is working on, gathering flax from the naked cliffs and adding one stitch every seven years when she appears on the cliffs. However, the ruins of the city will serve as her gravestone.

Credits
Full attribution/credit goes to:
AceShooting for capturing the images/3D scan.
Serge Ecker for designing/creating the sculpture.
Musée d’histoire de la ville de Luxembourg for commisioning/displaying the artwork publicly.
Druck von B. Bück, D. L. Ashliman, N. Gredt for writing/translating the original 1883 text about Melusina.
Please support Luxembourg's artists by visiting next time you're in the area. Villmols merci!