That is not a death mask of Benjamin Franklin, but rather was taken in life in Paris by noted sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon in 1784; Franklin was so impressed by the young artist that he persuaded Houdon to travel to the United States in 1785 where he took life masks of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Robert Fulton. Houdon later resculpted Washington's face altering to make it appear more regal and that was the model used for both his paintings and those of other later artists. And it is that 1786 resculpt this video claims was taken at the time of Washington's death. Likewise, the Abraham Lincoln mask was taken in life by Washington artist Clark Mills in his Baltimore studio on February 11, 1865 just two months before Lincoln's assassination. Other masks in this video that are misidentified as being taken post-mortem include Alfred Hitchcock, Marat [which is actually a painting], the Marie Antoinette [which is the Tussaud resculpt in wax], the "mask of Agamemnon" [heavily disputed, it is a beaten Gold sculpture], King Henry VII [actually a post-mortem sculpted bust], the George Reeves [taken in 1939 at MGM]. And finally, the mask of William Shakespeare has never been formally identified as actually being of the bard. If you're wondering how I know all this... I collect both life and death masks and have 14 on my walls including three shown in this video. FYI: it's also not true that death masks were not valued for themselves until the 1800's. Actually, in ancient Rome it was a common practice for elite families to take wax molds of the their deceased that would be a major addition to the funerary procession; afterward they would find a place of honor where an entire room in a villa would memorialize the wax faces of those ancestors.
THANK YOU!!!! I appreciate the info! I didn’t check before I started writing this comment, but do you have a “tour” of your collection??? I would love to see it! I never thought of collecting life/death masks because I just assumed that they would be way out of my price range. May I ask; what started your interest and collection?
@@BlueCanaryTX Back in the early 1970's I studied makeup under legendary artist Dick Smith who had an impressive collection of masks he had taken himself. I have my own copy of his Brando mask from THE GODFATHER in my collection, along with one Dick did of Buster Keaton for IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD. Dick's technique of using dental alginate next to the face gave his masks remarkable detail right down to the skin pores. When I began collecting masks over 20 years ago they could be found for as little as $29.99; today those prices have more than tripled with many masks simply no longer available. I hang all of my masks to reflect the correct height of the individual in life along with their autographs [if I've been able to buy them]. The smallest would be a 5'3" Joan Crawford [taken in 1970 by makeup artist Jimmy Evans] and the tallest would be Charlton Heston [taken in the mid-50's by either Ben Nye or Wally Westmore] who's height of 6'2-3/4" is just a little above Gregory Peck's 6'2" [a mask taken by Stuart Freeborn in 1976]. Next to them I have Clark Gable who was also pretty tall: he stood at 6'1". I couldn't document who took Gable's mask, but it's probably from MGM and is the work of William Tuttle. The oddest piece I own would be a casting of Napoleon's right hand that his doctor Antommarch took at the deathbed on May 5, 1821 three days after Napoleon died. Called the "hand that held the sword" it belies the true stature of the "Little Colonel" since it is about the size of the hand of a ten-yr. old girl. The two masks I own of George Washington are excellent examples of how much Houdon changed the real face into the one we recognize today. One noticeable difference is a visible scar under Washington's right eye from a [probable battle] wound so severe it must've have later affected his eyesight. Other alterations gave George a more prominent brow, nose bridge and chin, and plumped up his mouth to compensate for his missing teeth... which he must not have been wearing when the casting was done since that entire area appears sunken on the original. Several years ago I considered opening a small business where I'd take life masks to preserve the way a person looked at a given point in their lives so that as the years passed they could look back at how they once appeared. I could never get it off the ground since most people don't want to be reminded of the ravages of time!
@@gregoryboyd7176 this is FASCINATING!!! I had NO idea about the wound under Washington’s eye! Have you ever considered making a video? Like, a tour of your collection? I would watch that SO fast! It’s a true lost art… I wonder if there would be a market, today, via local funeral homes? I feel like we are finally entering back into an era that is more “death embracing”. Not quite as morbid as the Victorians, but more life affirming and accepting of the inevitable…
So cool! Loved this! ❤❤❤
THANK YOU!!! 💙💙💙
That was very interesting 🤔 Thank you 😊
Thank you!!! 💙💙💙
What an informative upload my friend!! Many are, as you said, beautiful works of art. Thank you my friend 😊
Thank you, Lovely!!! I appreciate it!!! 💙💙💙
Very interesting!
Thank you so much!!! 💙💙💙
Wow, how fascinating! Some were rather primitive and others had so much detail. Thanks for sharing 😊
@@marygrummer9189 my pleasure!!! Thank you for watching!!!
Those are awesome!
Thank you!!!
That is not a death mask of Benjamin Franklin, but rather was taken in life in Paris by noted sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon in 1784; Franklin was so impressed by the young artist that he persuaded Houdon to travel to the United States in 1785 where he took life masks of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Robert Fulton. Houdon later resculpted Washington's face altering to make it appear more regal and that was the model used for both his paintings and those of other later artists. And it is that 1786 resculpt this video claims was taken at the time of Washington's death.
Likewise, the Abraham Lincoln mask was taken in life by Washington artist Clark Mills in his Baltimore studio on February 11, 1865 just two months before Lincoln's assassination.
Other masks in this video that are misidentified as being taken post-mortem include Alfred Hitchcock, Marat [which is actually a painting], the Marie Antoinette [which is the Tussaud resculpt in wax], the "mask of Agamemnon" [heavily disputed, it is a beaten Gold sculpture], King Henry VII [actually a post-mortem sculpted bust], the George Reeves [taken in 1939 at MGM]. And finally, the mask of William Shakespeare has never been formally identified as actually being of the bard.
If you're wondering how I know all this... I collect both life and death masks and have 14 on my walls including three shown in this video.
FYI: it's also not true that death masks were not valued for themselves until the 1800's. Actually, in ancient Rome it was a common practice for elite families to take wax molds of the their deceased that would be a major addition to the funerary procession; afterward they would find a place of honor where an entire room in a villa would memorialize the wax faces of those ancestors.
THANK YOU!!!! I appreciate the info! I didn’t check before I started writing this comment, but do you have a “tour” of your collection??? I would love to see it!
I never thought of collecting life/death masks because I just assumed that they would be way out of my price range.
May I ask; what started your interest and collection?
@@BlueCanaryTX Back in the early 1970's I studied makeup under legendary artist Dick Smith who had an impressive collection of masks he had taken himself. I have my own copy of his Brando mask from THE GODFATHER in my collection, along with one Dick did of Buster Keaton for IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD. Dick's technique of using dental alginate next to the face gave his masks remarkable detail right down to the skin pores.
When I began collecting masks over 20 years ago they could be found for as little as $29.99; today those prices have more than tripled with many masks simply no longer available. I hang all of my masks to reflect the correct height of the individual in life along with their autographs [if I've been able to buy them].
The smallest would be a 5'3" Joan Crawford [taken in 1970 by makeup artist Jimmy Evans] and the tallest would be Charlton Heston [taken in the mid-50's by either Ben Nye or Wally Westmore] who's height of 6'2-3/4" is just a little above Gregory Peck's 6'2" [a mask taken by Stuart Freeborn in 1976]. Next to them I have Clark Gable who was also pretty tall: he stood at 6'1". I couldn't document who took Gable's mask, but it's probably from MGM and is the work of William Tuttle.
The oddest piece I own would be a casting of Napoleon's right hand that his doctor Antommarch took at the deathbed on May 5, 1821 three days after Napoleon died. Called the "hand that held the sword" it belies the true stature of the "Little Colonel" since it is about the size of the hand of a ten-yr. old girl.
The two masks I own of George Washington are excellent examples of how much Houdon changed the real face into the one we recognize today. One noticeable difference is a visible scar under Washington's right eye from a [probable battle] wound so severe it must've have later affected his eyesight. Other alterations gave George a more prominent brow, nose bridge and chin, and plumped up his mouth to compensate for his missing teeth... which he must not have been wearing when the casting was done since that entire area appears sunken on the original.
Several years ago I considered opening a small business where I'd take life masks to preserve the way a person looked at a given point in their lives so that as the years passed they could look back at how they once appeared. I could never get it off the ground since most people don't want to be reminded of the ravages of time!
@@gregoryboyd7176 this is FASCINATING!!! I had NO idea about the wound under Washington’s eye!
Have you ever considered making a video? Like, a tour of your collection? I would watch that SO fast!
It’s a true lost art…
I wonder if there would be a market, today, via local funeral homes? I feel like we are finally entering back into an era that is more “death embracing”. Not quite as morbid as the Victorians, but more life affirming and accepting of the inevitable…