archaeography

what sad eyes....

I still wish memento mori photography hadn't fallen out of fashion

How sad:(

based on the awkward positioning, posture and glassy eyed look, I would tend to believe both mother and child were deceased in this photo

ah, you're right, i thought her hand looked awkward, and those eyes are unfocused and the jaw slack.

Grief.

Es realmente interesante ver estas fotografias para conocer un poco de còmo se morìa en esas èpocas, es historico, me encantan

i think we wanted to believe that the mother like the infant is dead to ad to the dramatic mood. but to me this isn't the case. she has the look of grief yes for her child's loss.. her lips r still plum as oppose to many photos where the lips have shrunken. Yes her eyes have a faded look, i she was a red head, who head pale blue eyes.

Extraordinario siempre lo anterior fue mejor como se daba realce a todo e incluso a la muerte esto es fascinante el trabajo de fotografia y lo que quiso captar el fotografo en aquel momento formidable

HER EYES ARE GRIEF STICKEN

Bueno,personalmente si quisiese una fotografía de recuerdo de un ser querido,no la sacaría cuando hubiese muerto(incluso si viviese en esa época y no tuviese otra oportunidad monetaria)Aunque son cosas(como diría Friker...estoo,Iker Jimenez,"de otro tiempo").Personalmente prefiero la momificación Egipcia,ya que el resultado es un poco más alegre(si,aunque parezca que no)

Or for all we know the mother is actually deceased and the child is alive...a lot of children lost their mother due to child birth so it would make sense that this would be the only photo that child would have with his/her mother. Could be either way question is, is there a way to find out?

Common sense and a study of 19th century photography and common poses, both for the living and the deceased, let us know that the mother is certainly alive. The child, while likely deceased, isn't known for sure.

Victorian photography required long exposures and people were restrained to ensure no movement, therefore no emotion was displayed [except through the tenderness of the embrace] and a pose which could be sustained.

It is the child who has deceased. The pose is 'the last sleep' and if both had died it would have been more practice positioning them lying down.
For more information refer to books similar to 'Secure the Shadow - Death and Photography in America'.

This is a beautiful image, unfortunately death photography has become a taboo since the Victorian era, removed from family albums but organization such as 'Now I Lay me down to sleep' are continuing on this tradition, providing beautiful B&W portraits of deceased infants. Also refer to photographers Walter Schels and or exhibition/book 'The Dead' for another prospective, refer to your local library for information or picture archives.