Secondo Pia
[Lawyer and amateur photographer, b. 1855, Asti, Italy, d. 1941, Milan.]
Shut up in my darkroom all intent on my work, I experienced a very strong emotion when, during the development, I saw for the first time the Holy Face appear on the plate, with such clarity that I was dumbfounded by it. (On his 1898 photograph which highlighted the alleged face in what is known as “the Shroud of Turin.”)
No human being could have painted this negative that lies hidden in the stains. ... If it was not painted, not made by human hands, then ... (On his 1898 photograph which highlighted the alleged face in what is known as “the Shroud of Turin.”)