Death masks of the famous and infamous

A death mask is a wax or plaster cast made of a person's face following death. Throughout history they have been sculpted by artists or molded directly from the dead subject out of wax or plaster.

Death masks may be kept as mementos of the dead and have often been used for creation of post-mortem portraits. It is sometimes possible to identify portraits that have been painted from death masks, because of the characteristic slight distortions of the features caused by the weight of the plaster during the making of the mold.