The Piet will be on display in other Austin libraries later this year. The traditional role of libraries has been to provide access to great works of literature and art. The virtual tour features the 1555 Piet sculpture that Michelangelo broke into 15 pieces. Although partially repaired by Michelangelo's student, Tiberio Calcagni, the sculpture remained unfinished. The sculpture features the figures of the crucified Christ, the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdelene and Nicodemus who was believed to bear the likeness of the renaissance artist.
Historians believe the sculpture was originally intended for the artist's tomb monument.
It is housed at the Museum of the Opera del Duomo in Florence, Italy. The kiosk, the only one of its kind in Austin, allows Library patrons to see how the statue appeared before the inflicted damage. The virtual tour allows viewers to see how each form would appear if separated from the whole. Researchers made thousands of measurements and aligned hundreds of digitized pictures to create the three-dimensional image. The touch screen kiosk and program provides various angles of the sculpture so that the viewer can get a complete representation of the piece.