The ghostly image of Otylia Januszewska holding her recently deceased son Alexander captures not only a profound moment of grief but also speaks to the Victorian tradition of post-mortem photography. This practice, which became widespread in the mid-19th century, served as a way to honor the memory of the deceased and preserve a final, tangible connection with loved ones — especially when the reality of death felt too overwhelming.
The idea of reflecting on death has deep roots in the concept of memento mori, meaning “remember that you must die,” which has a long historical legacy. During the Middle Ages, reminders of death often appeared in paintings, and earlier cultures created trinkets depicting skeletons — a grim yet necessary acknowledgment of life’s fragility.
With the advent of photography in the 19th century, it became the perfect medium to make these reflections more personal and intimate. Families, now able to capture images, would immortalize their deceased loved ones, trying to hold onto them, keeping their faces ever close. This allowed the living not only to mourn but also to maintain a lasting bond and sense of connection after death.
Interestingly, today, when a loved one passes, we often focus on celebrating their life, frequently avoiding the stark reality of their death — almost as if mentioning it outright is taboo. In contrast, Victorians embraced death wholeheartedly, weaving it into rituals that acknowledged its inevitable presence.
Post-mortem photography, which peaked in popularity during the 1860s and 1870s, was a central part of this process. It began in the 1840s with the invention of photography itself, and although not all Victorians were comfortable photographing the dead, the practice became widespread, particularly in Britain, the United States, and Europe.
