After Death... – Dealing with the dead body in past and present religions

Thematic field of the exhibition "Body. Cult. Religion."

Death biologically represents the end of life, but the treatment of the dead body in many religions reflects ideas of an "afterlife". In some traditions, an essential component of continued existence is the preservation of the body, which is why attempts are made to stop or slow down the natural process of decay by means of various practices such as mummification.

The treatment of the deceased and the type of burial vary greatly according to culture, religion and time, which is why the associated practices and rituals are very diverse. In addition to burial in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the burning of the body was a common ritual in Hinduism as well as in ancient Greece and Rome. In Buddhist Tibet, the sky burial dominates, in which the body is cut up and given to the vultures as a ‘donation’. The dead bodies of powerful rulers or saints are often honoured as part of the cult of relics. The same applies to images of the deceased, which can serve as objects of veneration.

The best example of this is the crucified Jesus, who has become the most important symbol of Christianity. The "afterlife" ranges from the Elysian realms of ancient Greece to heaven, the kingdom of God in Christianity and the paradisiacal gardens promised to believers by the Koran. A commonality between the cultures is that you can get there through good deeds and a righteous life but the belief in salvation through divine grace is also widespread. This is why there is usually a counterpart to paradise, such as hell or hades, where a person is sent as punishment for a bad life.

Replica of the death mask of the unknown woman from the Seine (orig. "L'inconnue de la Seine") (Cat. no. 117)

According to legend, this death mask was made from the face of the corpse of an unknown woman who was found in the Seine in Paris at the end of the 19th century. The mask, which is said to have been made by a coroner who was impressed by the beauty of the deceased, became so famous that it is still known today from numerous reproductions. The creation of death masks to commemorate deceased relatives was already a common practice in Roman antiquity and has remained so over the centuries. In modern times, plaster casts were also made of the faces of emperors, kings and famous people after their death.