The Death Mask Of The Princesse de Lamballe

I've noticed from the statistics that many casual readers arrive at this blog after searching for the death mask of the Princesse de Lamballe. It seems macabre to want to view a remnant of a woman who met her end in such violent and inhumane circumstances.

Madame Tussaud was commissioned to make death masks of some who were murdered in the Terror but none are known to survive. The Tussaud collection endured a shipwreck in 1822, the Bristol riots of 1831, a fire in 1925 and was bombed in the Blitz of 1940.

This portrait was sketched on the day of her murder by Gabriel. She looks younger than her 42 years.