What is a Death Mask?

You might not know this, but you have likely kissed the most famous death mask.

In the 1800s, when photography was rare and forensic science was still in its infancy, death masks were a common way to preserve the likeness of the deceased—especially if their identity was unknown. These masks were made by applying plaster directly to the face shortly after death, creating a lasting mold.

They weren’t just mementos. In morgues, these plaster casts were sometimes displayed on walls in the hope that someone would recognize the face and claim the body. This practice was particularly common in cities like Paris and Vienna.

Beyond identification, death masks also served artistic, cultural, and scientific purposes:

• Artists used them to study facial anatomy or memorialize famous figures like Beethoven, Dante, and Napoleon.

• Anthropologists and criminologists used them to document physical features (for better or worse).

• Victorians often viewed them as part of the mourning process—keepsakes in an era obsessed with memorializing the dead.

Resusci Anne Death Mask as CPR Doll

The most famous death mask is actually from a woman whose actual name is unknown.

In the late 1800s, an unidentified woman was pulled from the Seine in Paris. A death mask was made in the hopes of identifying this mysterious woman. Sadly, no one ever claimed or identified her, but the workers at the mortuary were struck by the calm, almost smiling look on her face—and that her image quietly endured.

Artists called her the "drowned Mona Lisa."

Surrealists made her their muse.

And in 1960, her face was chosen for the world's first CPR training doll: Resusci Anne.

No one ever warned us we were practicing mouth-to-mouth on a death mask.

That CPR training is also where we get the phrase: "Annie, are you okay?"

It's the standard question trainees shout at the doll to check for responsiveness.

This story takes an odd turn when you hear that lyric in Michael Jackson's, Smooth Criminal. Michael Jackson remembered it during a CPR class—and incorporated that as a lyric.

in the end, Annie ended up being pretty famous for being an anonymous woman. It is comforting that through her death, she has helped save countless potential lives.