The final 3D model of the Grand Duke’s bust; Credit: Serge Ecker

Luxembourg-headquartered developer and manufacturer of professional 3D hardware and software Artec 3D has highlighted its involvement in the creation of a bronze bust of Luxembourg’s Grand Duke Guillaume, sculpted by artist Serge Ecker for the Official Portraits exhibition marking the monarch’s accession to the throne.

Commissioned to produce the bust alongside painted portraits, Serge Ecker was given artistic freedom, provided the sculpture closely resembled the Grand Duke. With only a limited window of time available to capture a precise likeness, the project relied on high-resolution 3D digitisation.

The scanning session, which lasted around 30 minutes, was carried out using Artec Leo to capture the overall geometry at speed, while Artec Spider II was used to record finer details. The digitised data was processed in Artec Studio, where scan decimation was applied to remove excess frames without compromising essential detail, resulting in a workable 3D model for sculptural development.

Serge Ecker then began a three-month artistic process, reinterpreting the scan data using digital modelling tools. Working with Rhino’s spline tools to separate polygons and Autodesk Maya to sculpt and refine surfaces, he manually adjusted, oriented and reshaped elements of the model before finalising the form. The completed digital bust was 3D printed to create positive moulds of the Grand Duke’s head and face, which were subsequently cast in bronze at a local foundry.

The finished sculpture was displayed at the Nationalmusée um Fëschmaart (MNAHA) as part of the Official Portraits exhibition, which concluded on Sunday 1 February 2026. The project combined traditional bronze casting techniques with contemporary 3D scanning and modelling technology in the creation of an official state portrait.

Reflecting on the collaboration, Serge Ecker said: “I’m a concept artist. The DIY factor is quite important to me and capturing a real place, transforming it, or bringing it somewhere else is my way of interpreting and translating it into something new. I don’t need to reinvent the wheel, there’s a technology for that. But sometimes you reach a limit and these collaborations really help you grow.”