Post-Mortem Photography - Memento Mori

The Victorian era was quite a morbid time in history. One of the most disturbing traditions of the era was post-mortem photography (photographing the dead).

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post-mortem-victorian-photographs/

Photography was new out and expensive at this time, so photographing the dead was popular as it was the only time they would ever be able to be photographed if they hadn't been before. It's keeping a record of someones life as a memory of someone. They were usually photographed 2-3 weeks after they died. This was because they normally waited for relatives to come over to see them or to be photographed with them. Bodies were kept in the kitchen or sitting room in an open casket. When photographed, they were often posed with their favourite toys or made to look like they were sleeping. Sometimes they would even paint eyes on the eyelids to make it look like they were alive.

Another popular form of photography was spirit photography, which focuses more on the mourner rather than the mourned. It is double exposure on the camera, trying to imagine what the afterlife and paranormal would look like. A typical spirit photograph would have the mourner as the focal point with their loved ones who have recently passed behind them. It is a physical display of grief, it gives them a way to grieve.

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com/236x/25/61/11/256111dfd6793
eec6bdcb8ab93ba139c.jpg

In this photograph, the photographer has attempted to make the girl look alive by painting on her pupils.

Image from: http://www.viralnova.com/post-mortem
-victorian-photographs/2/

Information from: http://www.viralnova.com/post-mortem-victorian-photographs/