Victorian Post-Mortem Photography. Victorian Post-mortem photography (also known as memorial portraiture or memento mori) is the practice of photographing the recently deceased. The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The Victorian Era style of clothing, however, ended in 1912. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence for Britain. Some scholars date the beginning of the period in terms of sensibilities and political concerns to the passage of the Reform Act 1832. In Victorian times people often booked formal funeral photographers when they could afford it. The memorial photograph of the deceased was taken to create the last visual remembrance of the person, and would usually be displayed in the drawing room afterward. Occasionally the photographer took pictures of the family at the funeral as well, as this was one of the few times that people would all be together. The earliest post-mortem photographs are usually close-ups of the face or shots of the full body and rarely include the coffin. The subject is usually depicted so as to seem in a deep sleep, or else arranged to appear more lifelike. Children were often shown in repose on a couch or in a crib, sometimes posed with a favorite toy or other plaything. It was not uncommon to photograph very young children with a family member, most frequently the mother. Adults were more commonly posed in chairs. Flowers were also a common prop in post-mortem photography of all types. The invention of the daguerreotype in 1839 made portraiture much more commonplace, as many of those who were unable to afford the commission of a painted portrait could afford to sit for a photography session. This cheaper and quicker method also provided the middle class with a means for memorializing dead loved ones. These photographs served less as a reminder of mortality than as a keepsake to remember the deceased. This was especially common with infants and young children; Victorian era childhood mortality rates were extremely high, and a post-mortem photograph might have been the only image of the child the family ever had. The later invention of the carte de visite, which allowed multiple prints to be made from a single negative, meant that copies of the image could be mailed to relatives. The practice eventually peaked in popularity around the end of the 19th century and died out as "snapshot" photography became more commonplace, although a few examples of formal memorial portraits were still being produced well into the 20th century. The effect of life was sometimes enhanced by either propping the subject's eyes open or painting pupils onto the photographic print, and many early images (especially tintypes and ambrotypes) have a rosy tint added to the cheeks of the corpse. Later examples show less effort at a lifelike appearance, and often show the subject in a coffin. Some very late examples show the deceased in a coffin with a large group of funeral attendees; this type of photograph was especially popular in Europe and less common in the United States. Post-mortem photography is still practiced in some areas of the world, such as Eastern Europe. "Post Mortem" vem do Latim, significando "Pós Morte", ou após a morte. As fotografias "Post Mortem" aparentemente tiveram origem na Inglaterra, quando a Rainha Victoria pediu que fotografassem um cadáver de uma pessoa conhecida, ou um parente, para que ela guardasse como recordação. A partir desse momento, o "costume" lentamente se espalhou por diversas partes do mundo, sendo que várias familias passaram a fazer amesma coisa, guardando para si uma mórbida recordação do ente querido que havia partido. Até os dias de hoje, por mais estranho que se possa parecer, em alguns lugares ainda se tem esse costume. Durante o século XIX, o ato de fotografar os falecidos era bem mais comum, parecendo nos dias de hoje algo "mórbido" e sem sentido, mas naquele tempo se tornou um costume natural. Criar álbuns com fotos dos familiares e amigos mortos, era uma espécie de negação da morte, ao mesmo tempo que as fotografias tornavam-se recordações guardadas pela família para se lembrar daqueles que se foram. Além disso, observa-se que "fotografias" naquela época era um grande luxo, devido ao elevado preço para produzi-las e também devido à pouca quantidade de câmeras fotográficas e profissionais disponíveis. A fotografia "Post Mortem" em si era algo bem caro, e funcionava como última homenagem aos falecidos. No ato de fotografar a pessoa que morreu à pouco tempo, estando o corpo em estado "fresco", eram criados verdadeiros cenários elaborados com composições muitas vezes complexas de estúdio para fazer os álbuns dos mortos, e assim tornar a morte menos dolorosa.

• published: 24 Jan 2014
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