Death Masks

Making a plaster death mask
 New York c. 1908
 George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress

(source: http://onelondonone.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/macabre-look-at-death-masks.html)

A Death mask is a cast usually made out of clay, wax or plaster in order to preserve someone's face after their death. This was around long before the Victorian Era, but as they were so fascinated with death, that was when the death masks became popular. They used them to remember the dead, but today they are used for facial reconstruction and a helpful tool when examinaminx possible diseases that caused someone's death.


Creating death masks in the lesson

I our lesson with Sharon we had to create our own death masks. First we had to take a photograph of ourselves standing in shadow and then we had to recreate the shadows on our faces using the makeup from our kits. I was fun to see everyone's interpretation of the assignment. I don't like the way my mask turned out (shading, blending), but I do find it funny. 

To create this death mask I used Black and White from our Supracolor palette. First I mixed a grey shade to apply as foundation and then added black and white where the shadows and light on the photograph. I used the foundation brush and a eyeshadow brush to apply.

Death mask from the lesson

(Feb 10th 2015)

Sharon wanted us to post it in our Facebook group and to reflect on the comments that we get. My comments were; "wow" from Natt Kayliegh Elesia and "Retro death mask dude" from George Moore. And I actually agree with George's comment, and in some way it kind of  reminds me of Picasso's paitings and weird facial featuers he'd to create in his portaits. 

Creating a death mask at home

Our homework was to create three more death masks at home. Also, I would like to mention that creating these masks is a lot harder that I thaught. However, looking at the images now, all next to eachother, I can tell that every time I tried to create a death mask the final look looks a lot more like the photograph I've taken. 

Again, I took photographs of myself in different lights and used the Supracolor palette, like for the death mask from the lesson, but for these I also mixed foundation in the shade Alabaster from our Kryolan palettes.

 Death mask

(Feb 12th 2015)

Death mask 

(Feb 13th 2015)

Death mask

model: Gabriella Popic

(March 28th 2015) 

http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-death/victorians-and-the-art-of-dying
http://onelondonone.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/macabre-look-at-death-masks.html
reference found on Feb 14th 2015