Art of Death: March 2008 Archives
A death mask is a wax or plaster cast made of a person’s face following death. Death masks may be mementos of the dead, or be used for creation of portraits. It is sometimes possible to identify portraits that have been
painted from death masks, because of the characteristic slight distortions of the features caused by the weight of the plaster during the making of the mold.
In the seventeenth century in some European countries, it was common for death masks to be used as part of the effigy of the deceased, displayed at state funerals. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries they
were also used to permanently record the features of unknown corpses for purposes of identification. This function was later replaced by photography.
The mask above is that of Blaise Pascal , he was amazing at math, he died at 39.
The Video below is on a guy named Nick Reynolds who does contemporary death mask art.
Intense! We would have incorporated Minnie Mouse or Glen Danzig somehow but, you know... not bad.Here is something someone wrote on another blog.
This artwork by the artist KAWS most likely has the hidden meaning “Fuck Death”. This interesting graphic will be used on an upcoming t-shirt from KAWS.
We're not totally convinced that the meaning would qualify as "hidden" though.
Jan Van Calcar (born circa 1499, died 1545) is credited with the famous woodcut illustrations of the anatomist Andreas Vesalius's famous works; most notably the anatomical study of the human body entitled De humani corporis fabrica libri septem or On the Fabric of the Human Body (1543).
These illustrations are still used by med students.
Hooray for useful art! Let's bring that back.
These illustrations are still used by med students.
Hooray for useful art! Let's bring that back.
