Victorian Britain, Consumption and Death Masks

In Victorian Britain people died young and at home. The main reasons this era was plagued with death was because of Infant Mortality and child birth, fatal diseases, death and the city, Cholera and Industrial deaths. As there wasn't the advanced medical facilities that we have now, there wasn't anything to help people survive. As the Victorian times saw the Industrial revolution, children were sent to work in factories to help and grow Britain. As there wasn't the right rules and regulations to follow that there is now in modern times deaths were easily caused. Fatal diseases such as small pox and chorea were spread because there was no central and indoor plumbing there for human waste like urine and faeces were just thrown in the street out of the windows and sometimes poor passers by were hit with the waste. TB or Tuberculoses was ripe in this era and it began with a serious cough, then it would get that bad that the lungs of the victims would explode and they would die. Small pox caused pusturals raised  from the skin, they would cause people to die and 95% of people who contracted this horrible disease quickly passed away. 

man with smallpox

The working class death rate was so bad in Manchester with children only reaching the age of five before passing away. Chorea was contracted by contaminated water. 

Queen Victoria was the ruler of Great Britain at this time and she ruled for over 60 years. She mourned her husband for 40 year after his death and she did that by dressing head to toe in black. She would lay out his clothes everyday for him (even though he would never wear them again) and have painting and busts of Albert everywhere in the place. 

Death was taken very seriously in Victorian Britain, grieving and mourning was seen everywhere and everyday. There was a huge rise in graves in the cemeteries. Because of Victoria dressing in black Victorian Britain was seen dressed in black and it became a fashion. 

Memento Mori/ Victorian Death Portraits

This is when the Victorians would dress up their deceased family and have them pose for photographs to remember them by. They would have the body watched at all times until burial to prove death. The relatives of the dying would surround the bed of the person. The mirrors would be covered to prevent the dead's spirit getting caught in them and haunting the family. Clocks were stopped at the time of the death and curtains drawn. Photographs would be produced as well as death masks made to remember the dead as well mementos. The body of the dead could lay in the home for 2-3 weeks before a burial took place, after the burial took place families would have picnics outside the graves of the dead. Hair was taken and put into lockets and other jewellery items so the family could have something to remember the dead by. Some Victorians were buried with bells so if they weren't actually dead they could ring the bell and someone would rescue them.  

Death Masks

During this lesson we created our own death masks with make up. We were told to take a selfie with very dark shadows and then create this with make up. 

My original creepy Gothic Victorian death mask picture.

The picture I used to create my death mask.

I am very happy with how this came out considering the time we had. I used supra colours and eye shadows to set and create this look. It was a lot of fun and something I haven't done before. It really got the creativeness flowing within the class and it helped me improve my blending skills with cream paints.