Shakespeare's death mask – Atlas Obscura

It is one of the most famous Shakespeare secrets: What did the bard look like? None of the iconic portraits of the most revered dramatist in history is known as authentic similarities.

The image of Shakespeare, which most of us have imprinted in our heads, is a combination of facets from different dubious sources. The man's true face behind it hamletPresent MacbethAnd King Lear It may have been lost at the time.

Or you can see it at the end of a hallway with low traffic in a library at the Technical University of Darmstadt.

From 2024, this alleged death mask by William Shakespeare is located in a showcase lined by Satin from several in this corridor, which is not characterized by the absolutely no sign. A badge on the wall identifies the miraculous object objectively as “William Shakespeare Totenmask 1616”. Nothing nearby recognizes how important the mask of the globe protectors would be if it were real. In addition, nothing nearby offers a context of the scientific debate about whether it is actually.

On the one hand: In Shakespeare, death masks were rarely made from non-royals. And it has proven to be difficult to trace the origin of the mask back to England. On the other hand, an investigation by a German eye specialist came to the conclusion that the swelling around the left eye matches other possible pictures of Shakespeare and with a rare cancer where he may have died.

Literature enthusiasts flock to exhibitions of Shakespeare-Ephemera: the 235 existing copies of the first folio, the handful of dubious portraits, the notorious will, in which he only left his wife the “second best bed”. If you can calm your doubts for a moment, the death mask could bring you all on stage: a recording of the end of the bard.