EXPLORE HOW DEATH IS CELEBRATED WITHIN POST-MORTEM PORTRAITURE
VIS4041
CLARA DAILEY
17128394
TRACY ALISON SMITH
Introduction
The idea of post-mortem portraiture has been alive since the middle ages. Nobles and religious Figures were commissioned to be painted on their death beds to remember them and keep the memory of them alive. This type of portraiture ‘implies a desire to see and remember the person in death’ (Linkman, A. (2011). Photography and Death. London: Reaktion Books. Pg; 14) which is something the Victorians found very fashionable from 1839 when practical photography was invented. The daguerreotype made this kind of portraiture much more affordable to the middle-class who couldn’t originally pay for a commission of a painted portrait. However still too expensive for a common everyday person, these photos were more of a keepsake of the dead rather than something to remind of humanities mortality.
VICTORIAN CULTURE
Post-Mortem Photography was used by the Victorians as another way of mourning their loved ones and friends. In most cases the dead body would be dressed up in their finest clothes and posed in a way to make them still seem alive. When Photographed, the dead are ‘deathly still’ compared to the alive family members creating a ghostly effect when the image is finally developed. The image to the right (Fig.1) depicts Victorian era parents posing with their deceased daughter; photographer unknown. This image is a perfect example of how the deceased looks so much crisper than the alive family members. In the photo you can see the father looking straight at the camera as if he is excepting the passing of his daughter, a slight smile on his face and his arm around his wife in a comforting way. The mother on the other hand is looking away from the camera as well as the daughter, a morbid expression on her face and has a comforting hand on her daughter’s arm. Her being sat in this particular position could suggest that she is still mourning her child and hasn’t excepted that she is gone. For the viewer this is moving personal image, and today viewing these images people may feel violated and if they are intruding in someone else’s life.
It was especially common to photograph children as the death rate was extremely high, meaning this may have been the only photo the family would have of the child. As the era developed on, the invention of the ‘carte de visite’ allowed multiple prints to be made from one single negative. This gave families the ability of mailing images of loved ones to other members of the family.
The effect of life during the photos were sometimes enhanced by several different ways, propping the eyes open, painting open eyes on the print, and in very early era adding a rosy tint to the corpses cheeks.
The BBC article ‘Taken from life: The unsettling art of death photography’ by ‘Bethan Bell’ talks about the Victorian era of death photography and how that impacted the culture at the time. She states ‘Victorian life was suffused with death. Epidemics such as diphtheria, typhus and cholera scarred the country, and from 1861 the bereaved Queen made mourning fashionable.’ (BBC News. (2018). Taken from life: Victorian death photos. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36389581 [Accessed 8 May 2018].) It’s a well-known fact that queen Victoria had an incredible impact on the fashion, attitude and class of the era. When her beloved Prince Albert died she even made mourning fashionable. Because of this death photography wasn’t the only fashionable thing to celebrate and mourn the dead. At times locks of hair were cut from the dead and arranged in lockets and rings and made into wearable jewellery. They were known as memento mori; ‘remember you must die’. However, this practice was around before this time and has be carried out for generations.
‘Hidden mother photography’ is a contemporary form of post-mortem photography where the mother literally hides behind a vail holding her deceased child while a photographer takes a long-exposed image. Older children were clamped to chairs but smaller children were held by their mothers covered in black. This gave the ghostly effect of an almost grim reaper like figure holding the child; the hands and arms almost invisible around them. This type of photography though, isn’t just used in a post-mortem way but was used for everyday Victorian portraiture of children; still creating the creepy image of the veiled mother behind them.
The image to the right (Fig.2) illustrates how underlyingly disturbing this type of photography is. As you can see there is hidden figure under a sheet holding the child, which isn’t just the weirdest thing about this photo. You can also tell the young girl is deceased by the rosy cheeks added but also by the way she has been positioned. Her eyes are pure white and looks pail and lifeless. This photography is very disturbing to the viewer, as it feels like something you would have as a basis for a horror movie. I think the modern world is baffled about how families kept these photos in their photobooks but, this just shows how much the western culture has changed throughout the years. However, to them it was normal for images like this to be taken and kept as keepsakes to remember lost family members; even if they are unsettling to us modern day folk.
MEXICAN CULTURE
Although the majority of post-mortem photography took place in the Victorian era it continued in different cultures throughout the 20th century. As well as this, most of the deceased subjects were still children. As seen at the beginning of post mortem photography parents wanted to remember their children that had passed away at a young age. Interestingly, photographs were used ‘as evidence of the child’s entry as a saint into eternal life’ (Linkman, A. (2011). Photography and Death. London: Reaktion Books. Pg; 37) meaning ‘The Parents were not expected to cry or show sorrow’ (Linkman, A. (2011). Photography and Death. London: Reaktion Books. Pg; 37).
In the Mexican culture if the child died after baptism, the Mexicans thought that these infants were pure and free from sin, meaning they were to travel to paradise in the other world. These infants were often referred to as “angelitos” translating to cherubs or little angles; their deaths were celebrated instead of mourned.
Fig.3 shows a Mexican family surrounding the deceased daughter encircled in flowers. Both the dress and accessories of the child symbolise a holy state of a pure innocence. In this this case of tradition, the girl would be dressed to represent ‘the immaculate conception’. In this ceremony the god parents were in charge of laying out the infant on a bed of flowers as well as reading prayers after fireworks and a brief service. This way of celebrating the child’s death links to how the virgin Mary was immaculate when she was ensured entry into heaven. ‘Post-mortem paintings of this practice survive from the eighteenth century and by the early twentieth century photographs had in turn become an established component of this ritual…’ (Linkman, A. (2011). Photography and Death. London: Reaktion Books. Pg; 38) and in some cases this ritual is still continued in the modern day.
1970-18’S CULTURE
Peter Hujar’s ‘Candy Darling on her death bed’ (Fig.4) on gelatin silver print (1973) is a rather modern interpretation of this portraiture. In the 70’s this type of photography was used to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic and how it has changed people’s attitudes towards death in the westernworld. David Wojnarowicz (1954-1992) took a series of post mortem photographs in 1987 of the photographer Hujar whose body was on a bed in a hospital corridor; his death was an important event to him as they had very similar links to each other and was inspired by him. His inspiration came mostly from the early 1970’s to mid 80’s where Hujar had taken photographs of friends, family, lovers and partners in an exhibition ‘Portraits of life and death’. There was two parts of this exhibition, black and white portraits of personalities, artists and friends among photos in the catacombs in Sicily. Death was the theme of the majority of his work. This can be seen in his photos like ‘Jackie Curtis dead’ (1985) and his iconic ‘Candy Darling on her death bed’.
Candy’s open pose in this photo relates to how she was known by people, as if to retain her elegance and allure. As well as this the sheets are placed over her lower body as if the capture her shape, the whiteness of the sheets contrasting with the folds and the shadows. The way the light is used is cleaver as she seems to glow compared to the symbolic darkness that surrounds the white bedsheets. All the flowers around her denote love and that she died bravely, stylishly and surrounded by love. As well as this photo Hujar took photos of her laid out in an open casket and covered in flowers. “Dying or not, Candy had taken care of her appearance. The dark made up eyes and lipstick accentuate the pallor of her skin. She wears a delicate bracelet on one arm. A froth of blond hair spills over the pillow and the girly, puffed short sleeve of her dark top emphasises the delicate thinness of the arm that emerges from it.” (Linkman, A. (2011). Photography and Death. London: Reaktion Books. Pg; 170)
Hujar was diagnosed with pneumocystis pneumonia and AIDS on 3rd January 1987 and died before the end of November the same year. This hit Wojnarowicz extremely hard as he was his first lover, mentor as well as an artist and a friend. Unfortunately, Wojnarowicz was diagnosed HIV positive a few months after Hujar’s death. Before this he had a hard life, experiencing an abusive childhood and working from a very early age as a male prostitute in New York as well as hustling in Times Square. He eventually made his way across America through many hitch hikes and lived for several months in San Francisco and Paris before ending up in New York in 1978. By the late 70’s he moved towards creating ideas and preserving an authentic version of history throughout different mediums; these included images, writing and objects that would produce different forms of history.
Wojnarowicz’s art work ‘Untitled (Hujar Dead) 1988-9’ (Fig.5) combined the photographs of Hugar’s dead body with an unsettling first person point of view with a criticism of the neglect that his given to homophobia in America. The text used in this piece of art work was the longest and strongest ever incorporated and “Burns with indignation, scorn and rage” (Linkman, A. (2011). Photography and Death. London: Reaktion Books. Pg; 172). The border of the image is composed of shredded bank notes, broken up words, maps in the shape of sperm and 9 of the photos Wojnarowicz took of Hujar’s dead body. Jerry Saltz states ‘Wojnarowicz lingers over Hujar’s face, feet, hands and body one last time, taking one last look; he caresses him with his camera – loves him, heals him, weeps for him, and says goodbye to him’ (Saltz, J. (2018). Howl. [online] Villagevoice.com. Available at: https://www.villagevoice.com/1999/02/09/howl/ [Accessed 21 May 2018].)
SUMMERY
From the beginning of post-mortem portraiture, the motives of different cultures and the reasons behind these types of commissions still remain obscure. Today, this practice is very niche and within our western culture we are exposed to a lot of death implied digital situations through films and media. However, we are still blind to the real outcome of death and how it effects family’s and cultures.
It seems as if the Victorians were acclimatised to the fact that death is a natural process and used post-mortem portraiture to express their love and keep their loved one’s memory alive; it was also intended to ease the pain of loss and bring solace and comfort to the bereaved. As we move though cultures and ages, the practice seems to drift out of fashion until the 1970’s when another disease epidemic broke lose, much like the Victorian era where again death became fascinating. Death has always been part of Mexican culture with snippets of post-mortem photography in the early 1900’s, but they have always celebrated the dead through ‘Día de Muertos’, The Day of The Dead’.
Even though this may seem disturbing to some, I think it is personal, precious way of retaining the memory of the ones you love, because even though they may have gone from this world, they will never be gone from your memory.
LIST OF IMAGES
Fig.1
Unknown, parents with deceased daughter, 1800s.
(Flickr. (2018). Flickr. [online] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/6384870541 [Accessed 8 May 2018].)
Fig.2
Photographer Unknown, Post-Mortem Hidden Mother, 1800s.
(Postmortemphotos.blogspot.co.uk. (2018). Post Mortem Photos. [online] Available at: http://postmortemphotos.blogspot.co.uk [Accessed 10 May 2018].)
Fig.3
Photographer Unknown, Mexican family members with deceased daughter. 1930’s, Gelatin Silver Print
(Linkman, A. (2011). Photography and Death. London: Reaktion Books. Pg; 38)
Fig.4
Candy on Her Death Bed. 1973. Gelatine sliver front.
Artsy.net. (2018). Peter Hujar | Candy Darling on Her Deathbed (1973) | Artsy. [online] Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/peter-hujar-2-candy-darling-on-her-deathbed [Accessed 20 May 2018].
Fig.5
Untitled (Hujar Dead) 1988-9.
Artnet.com. (2018). artnet.com Magazine Features – The Anger Artist. [online] Available at: http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/features/saltz/saltz2-12-3.asp [Accessed 21 May 2018].
REFERENCE LIST
Artsy.net. (2018). Peter Hujar | Candy Darling on Her Deathbed (1973) | Artsy. [online] Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/peter-hujar-2-candy-darling-on-her-deathbed [Accessed 20 May 2018].
Artnet.com. (2018). artnet.com Magazine Features – The Anger Artist. [online] Available at: http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/features/saltz/saltz2-12-3.asp [Accessed 21 May 2018].
BBC News. (2018). Taken from life: Victorian death photos. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36389581 [Accessed 8 May 2018]
Flickr. (2018). Flickr. [online] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/6384870541 [Accessed 8 May 2018]
Linkman, A. (2011). Photography and Death. London: Reaktion Books
Postmortemphotos.blogspot.co.uk. (2018). Post Mortem Photos. [online] Available at: http://postmortemphotos.blogspot.co.uk [Accessed 10 May 2018]
Saltz, J. (2018). Howl. [online] Villagevoice.com. Available at: https://www.villagevoice.com/1999/02/09/howl/ [Accessed 21 May 2018]
Bibliography
Artsy.net. (2018). Peter Hujar | Candy Darling on Her Deathbed (1973) | Artsy. [online] Available at: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/peter-hujar-2-candy-darling-on-her-deathbed [Accessed May 2018].
Artnet.com. (2018). artnet.com Magazine Features – The Anger Artist. [online] Available at: http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/features/saltz/saltz2-12-3.asp [Accessed May 2018].
BBC News. (2018). Taken from life: Victorian death photos. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36389581 [Accessed May 2018]
Brown, N. (2018). [online] Eprints.bbk.ac.uk. Available at: http://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/6241/1/6241.pdf [Accessed May 2018].
Flickr. (2018). Flickr. [online] Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/6384870541 [Accessed May 2018]
Linkman, A. (2011). Photography and Death. London: Reaktion Books
Linkman, A. (2018). Taken from life: Post-mortem portraiture in Britain 1860–1910. [online] tandfonline.com. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03087298.2006.10443484?journalCode=thph20 [Accessed May 2018].
Mendelyté, A. (2012). COMMUNICATION ACROSS CULTURES. [online] Synaesthesiajournal.com. Available at: http://www.synaesthesiajournal.com/uploads/7/3/4/7/73473431/mendelyte_v1_n3.pdf [Accessed May 2018].
Postmortemphotos.blogspot.co.uk. (2018). Post Mortem Photos. [online] Available at: http://postmortemphotos.blogspot.co.uk [Accessed 10 May 2018]
Saltz, J. (2018). Howl. [online] Villagevoice.com. Available at: https://www.villagevoice.com/1999/02/09/howl/ [Accessed May 2018]
Summersgill, L. (2018). Family Expressions of Pain in Post-mortem Portraiture. [online] Journalonarts.org. Available at: http://journalonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/SVACij-Vol2_No1_2015-Summersgill-Pain-and-Portrait.pdf [Accessed May 2018].