Undying Faces...

[82Rigger]

Have you ever wondered?

What did they REALLY look like?

Those famous people from history who lived and died before the age of photography.

Those who made history, but whose images we know only by artists.

Photographs are accurate... but how can we know if the artists painted or drew their subjects true-to-life?

In many cases we CAN know.

A popular custom of times past was MASK MAKING and was especially popular with notable people.

A mould of the face was created in plaster of Paris.

This could be done while a person was still living (a life mask), or after death (a death mask).

So, did the artists do their subjects justice?

How did George REALLY look to Martha and the Continental Army?

YOU be the judge!




Daniel Webster (1782-1852) portrait and life-mask:








Elizabeth I (1533-1603) portrait and death-mask








Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) portrait and life-mask









George Washington (1732-1799) portrait and life-mask









John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) portrait and life-mask









Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) portrait and life-mask









Last one

Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) portrait and death-mask:

[DMZ-LT]

Thanks Steve