Stoneware Mask by Rupert Carabin

In the pursuit of a sophisticated anatomical knowledge, Rupert Carabin attended public dissections at the Paris faculty of medicine. While there, he became acquainted with Jules Talrich, the presider of public dissections and head ceroplastician. Soon after, Rupert Carabin began an apprenticeship with the anatomist. In the midst of his training, Carabin sold mortuary masks for 100 F a head, the equivalent of $1100 in today's money. The lucrative occupation allowed him to support himself while pursuing his true passion of erotic sculpture. Mortuary masks were modeled when the face of the deceased was too damaged to display, and embalming was no longer a sufficient method of repair. This rare intact example renders the deceased in an entirely unidealized state 8-12 hours after death. The face is in a supine position with the head turned three-quarters to the right. The skin shows significant bloating, livor mortis- wine colored discoloration from blood pooling in the vessels, and tardieu spots, dark pinpoint spots created from ruptured capillaries. Carabin created this effect through a slip of iron oxide and an uneven beige and brown glaze. Carabin was known to have added pestled human ashes to his glazes, an addition that was most likely responsible for the mask's irregular complexion and dramatic variation in color. This work is signed Carabin and bears a monogram representing a cat. Étienne Eichholtzer. Le fonds photographique de François-Rupert Carabin (1890-1915) : le regard dévoilé . Art et histoire de l'art. 2014. Ffdumas-01547084f Brunhammer, Y., and C. Merklen. 1974. L'Oeuvre de Rupert Carabin, 1862-1932. Paris: Galerie du Luxembourg. Universite´ de Nantes. 1980. [Actes du] Colloque de Nantes, 21-24 Avril 1976. 1, 1. Paris: Minard. Stead, E´vanghe´lia. 2013. La chair du livre: mate´rialite´, imaginaire et poe´tique du livre fin-de-sie`cle. Paris: PUPS. Reprinted as No. 195 p. 237 and p. 231 of the book The work of Rupert Carabin 1862-1932