This image from c. 1910 is a classic example of the "slumber room" portrait, a highly-staged style of postmortem photograph with an elaborate Victorian funerary scene. These portraits depicted the deceased as if resting in a sweet sleep, often surrounded by canopy-like drapery and a multitude of flowers.

Depending on how affluent the family was, the surroundings were as extravagant and decorative as possible. The brocaded wallpaper, gilded framed paintings on the wall and multitude of roses adorning the jewel box casket all make this image a good example of the incredible effort put into staging these portraits. The family of the woman seen here probably would have proudly displayed this memento of their loved one's life and their devotion to her in death.

By this time, when embalming had become common and it was possible to apply makeup to soften the appearance of the deceased, there was a lot of emphasis on beautifying the corpse. There are almost no signs of physical death in this image. As attitudes about death had changed, so had approaches to portraying the bodies of the dead in portraits.

Credit: © Stanley B. Burns, MD and The Burns Archive

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