Death masks are wax or plaster castings taken of a person's face soon after their death. Death masks have been a matter of practice from as early as ancient time and making death masks was routine until the late 19th century when photography took over in popularity. However, some death masks were still made in the 20th century and are made to this day. Death masks were sometimes used as a way to identify the dead and at other times the death masks were used as a way to remember the dead person or to use as a way to build their memorial on their grave. Death Masks usually involve the eyes of the deceased being closed but in a few rare exceptions the eyes are left open. We have collected a number of death mask pictures of well known people throughout history.
Death masks provide us with ghostly images of the people who had been living only a short while beforehand.
Here we have put together a collection of death mask pictures of famous faces throughout history.
This is the death mask Scottish novelist Sir Walter Scott.
Even the bard had a death mask made when he passed away. This is the death mask of William Shakespeare.
This is the death mask of William Hope Harvey.
This death mask is of Pope Pius IX.
This is the death mask the English romantic poet William Wordsworth.
This death mask of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner.
This death mask is that of Thomas Paine.
This is the death mask of the Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
This is the death mask of Walt Whitman.
This is a bronzed copy of Napoleon's death mask. Napoleon's death mask is one of the most talked about by those who have an interest in such items.
This is the death mask of one of Australia's most famous historical figures, Ned Kelly.
This is the eath mask of Max Reinhardt.
Like the James Dean mask above, this death mask of Noel Cowards is unique to our collection for being cast in color and for the detail given to the death mask.
This is the death mask of Christian theologian, John Wesley.
This is the death mask of the famous writer Jonathan Swift. Included amongst his large body of work is Gulliver's Travels.
This is the death mask of the Russian novelist whose works included War And Peace, Leo Tolstoy.
You will notice that most of the pictures of death masks that we have been able to find are of men. However, this is a clear exception. This is a death mask of Mary, Queen Of Scots that was made not long after her execution.
This is the death mask the first president of the United States, George Washington. Also, if you notice his eyes are open which is pretty rare for a death mask.
This is the death mask of the famous film star, James Dean. This death mask is unusual for being in color.
This is the death mask of composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
This is the death mask of the poet John Keats.
This is the death mask of the Irish writer and poet James Joyce.
One of the more modern death masks in our death mask picture collection. This is the death mask of film director Alfred Hitchcock.
This is the death mask of the Nazi SS leader Heinrich Himmler.
This is the death mask of assassinated president, Abraham Lincoln.
This is the death mask of sculptor Filippo Brunelleschi. He died in 1446 so this is one of the oldest death masks we have seen.
This is the death mask of George Reeves, the actor that played Superman in the classic tv show.
This is the death mask of French mathematician, Blaise Pascal.
DO YOU WANNA HAVE YOUR OWN DEATH MASK?
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