Apr. 17, 2012 at 9:43pm with 2 notes
death maskphotography bookkeatsmendelsohn
The Unseen Eye; W. M. Hunt. Thames and Hudson, 1994. from left to right: Male life mask Life mask of Beethoven Life mask of William Blake I was at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh yesterday and in the library they had a few cabinets full of death masks. There was Keats (aquiline nose, stretched cheekbones), Mendelsohn (nondescript), and a few anonymous ones that have stuck in my mind - one titled ‘idiot woman’ and another ‘insane man’. Tiny, shrunken heads, lopsided mouths, faces startled and perplexed. I wonder what kind of life they could have had.

The Unseen Eye; W. M. Hunt. Thames and Hudson, 1994.

from left to right:

Male life mask

Life mask of Beethoven

Life mask of William Blake

I was at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh yesterday and in the library they had a few cabinets full of death masks. There was Keats (aquiline nose, stretched cheekbones), Mendelsohn (nondescript), and a few anonymous ones that have stuck in my mind - one titled ‘idiot woman’ and another ‘insane man’. Tiny, shrunken heads, lopsided mouths, faces startled and perplexed. I wonder what kind of life they could have had.