Photography of the Dead

Many Christian societies used the photographic method to depict the dead. Whereas this practice may now appear unusual, it had been in fashion from the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century all over the Christian world. Such a phenomenon raises two issues. The first is the necessity to understand the sense and the social uses of these pictures in the social context of the period. Second is the desire to understand the causes of the disappearance of this practice. Indeed, the refiguring of the family structures and the waning of the importance of religion in the Western societies had a great impact on this practice. This means that the photography of the dead makes sense in a particular social context in which people used it to face the reality of death, then perceived through Christian cosmological ideals. The following discussion presents the association between this form of human experience of death and the social context within which it occurred.

The first part of this entry addresses the recourse to the photographic method to represent the dead in different Christian countries. Then, the discussion focuses on the process of idealization of the dead. Indeed, during funerals the social group creates an idealized memory of the deceased fixed by the pictures. Fixing this idealized memory, these pictures serve three main functions: (1) to create family ancestors, (2) to perpetuate the family identity, and (3) to enhance the process of mourning. Lastly, the phenomena responsible for the disappearance of this practice are discussed in order to present a more global perspective on the association between the photography of the dead and the social context.

Postmortem Pictures as Representations of the Dead

In keeping with the tradition of representation of the dead—which involves recumbent effigies, postmortem depictions, and mortuary masks—the photographic method was used in the 19th century in order to depict the dead. This medium was initially used by painters as a model for the postmortem painted portraits, but photographs progressively became actual representations of the dead. Indeed, the photographic method had major advantages in that pictures were considered faithful reproductions of reality, were infinitely reproducible, and were affordable. Whereas the postmortem portraits were initially intended for the rich and public characters, the appearance of the photographic method allowed a complete democratization of this practice.

Deceased person lying in state, Poland, 1967

Source: Nadine Mielzareck. Used with permission.

Postmortem pictures mainly consist of taking pictures of the deceased lying in state, or of the entire funeral, including the deceased lying in state, the mass, the procession, and the inhumation (see photos). Nevertheless, pictures are found in which dead children are represented in a state of sleep. Indeed, the parents who lost a young child but did not take a picture of him or her when living could, through this medium, still have such a memory in which the death does not appear so obvious.

As with other means of representing the dead, postmortem pictures are associated with Christian conceptions of death. They can be considered as an expression not only of the ars moriendi but also of the belief in resurrection. According to this belief, each individual is composed of a body and a soul which are separated after death but which are supposedly reunified after the Last Judgment. In this view the corpse represents strong meanings and the postmortem pictures make sense. Each picture is not only a representation of a deceased person but also a representation of an individual.

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