Sunday, February 26, 2012

WHAT DID THEY REALLY LOOK LIKE? LIFE AND DEATH MASKS

George Washington Life Mask
John Adams Life Mask
Thomas Jefferson Life Mask
James Madison Life Mask
Dolley Madison, Life Mask
Martin Van Buren Life Mask
Abraham Lincoln Life Mask
Ulysses S. Grant Death Mask
Benjamin Franklin Life Mask
Daniel Webster Life Mask
Henry Clay Life Mask
John C. Calhoun Life Mask
Robert E. Lee Life Mask
Aaron Burr Death Mask






















Something a little different: The body of John Paul Jones in a autopsy photograph taken in 1905. Jones died in 1792!

Napoleon Death Mask






















The marshal Philippe Petain on his deathbed. July 23, 1951. (Source: Getty Images)

Ludwig Van Beethoven Life Mask
Benjamin Disraeli Death Mask
John Keats Life Mask
Franz Liszt Death Mask
Felix Mendelssohn Death Mask
Isaac Newton Death Mask
Thomas Paine Death Mask
Jonathan Swift Death Mask
Sir Walter Scott Death Mask























Queen Elizabeth I (Source: Pinterest)























Mary Queen of Scots death mask (Source: Beyond London Travel)






















Add caption
Martin Luther death mask (Source: Wikipedia)























General William Sherman (Source: Wordpress)

8 comments:

  1. Using Madison’s life mask and Adobe Photoshop, I’ve attempted to create what Madison might have looked like in 1825. https://yarbs.net/blog/2019/11/04/what-did-the-founding-fathers-look-like-james-madison/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, thank you for posting this! I learned so much from your article!

      Delete
  2. Death masks are one of the very few ways that we can see how famous politicians/rulers look with 100% accuracy. Thank you for posting these.

    ReplyDelete
  3. These life and death masks are very valuable for facial reconstruction, portraits, and sculptures today. Facial masks are the most realistic likeness for people who lived before photography prior to 1839.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are very valuable indeed for facial reconstruction. James Madison was very pleased with his life mask and thought it to be very accurate. See the the US Founding Fathers' life masks reconstructed at yarbs.net

      Delete
  4. Absolutely fascinating....it is amazing what you see and take with you !! .. thank you for this, yes ...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for this, it is amazing what you see and take with you...

    ReplyDelete