The DEATH MASK
VON LIEBIG* ROBERT SOMMER Liebig Museum. Giessen, Germany
A
GROUP of the relatives of Justus von Liebig held a family reunion at the Liebig Museum in Giessen in July, 1931. Freifrau Auguste von Liebig of Munich used this occasion to present to the Museum a death mask of her distinguished father-inlaw. She is the widow of Liebig's second son Hermann A RECENTLY DISCOVERED AND HENCEHITHERTO UNPUBLISHED PHOT~GRAPH OF LIEBIG IN HIS LATERYEARS (1831-1894), and their son Hans (1874-1931) served as Assistant Professor of Chemistry a t Giessen. Presented to the Liehig Museum by Regierungsprisident. E. yon Harnack, whose mother was a daughter of Johanna This mask is unquestionably an original and correLiehig Thiersch (see text). sponds closely to the one in the Deutsches Museum a t Munich. Dr. Heinrich vou Liebig, a son of Liebig's first son George (1827-1903), has studied the history of packed in charcoal and sent for burial to his native city, these two masks and his researches leave little doubt Darmstadt. To the surprise of everyone his condition that both were taken by Kreittmeyer, the expert plaster improved and by the middle of June he was out of worker of the Bavarian National Museum. The mask danger. This casket was put away in the laboratory in the Deutsches Museum was a gift from Frau Julie storeroom, together with its mate, for his wife had Helquist. She was an intimate friend of the Liebig ordered one for herself. Although he took up the curfamily, to whom she was indirectly related. Her rent of his activities, he was never quite the same again; father, Ludwig Thiersch, the artist, was a brother of he lacked his characteristic drive and energy. In the the surgeon Karl Thiersch who was the husband of spring of 1873 the recurrence of sleepless nights folLiebig's daughter Johanna (1836-1926). The donor lowed by days of enervation gave notice that the end of the Giessen mask informed the writer that she had was probably not far distant. In his last letter to reason to believe that Ludwig Thiersch participated in Wohler (April 3) he said, "I planned to write to you the taking of the plaster impressions of the dead chern- yesterday, but I had a bad night, no sleep a t all, and I lay the whole day on the sofa, t i e d and exhausted. ist's lineaments. This is quite probable. Liebig's health underwent a severe breakdown early I thought of you, your sound sleep, your good appetite, in 1870. He sufferedfrom almost constant headaches; the normal operation of all your functions. Can the in March a large carbuncle on his neck necessitated aged succumb to insomnia alone without having a real several painful operations; a debilitating fever and illness? It's a vegetative life with recuperation a t long spells of insomnia so weakened him that a t the night, and if this fails, the lamp gradually flickers beginning of May, fearing the worst, he set his house out." The feeling of languor increased, he spent long periods in order, had his casket made, and gave detailed directions regarding the disposal of his body which was to be on a sofa, and falling to sleep one day in his garden, he took cold. Inflammation of the lungs set in and he *Translated by Ralph E. Oesper, University of Cincinnati. sank into a coma broken by occasional short periods of Dr. Sommer, Geheimer Medizinal Rat, is by profession a psyconsciousness. He died at 5:30 in the afternoon of chologist and for many years directed the neurological clinic of the Medical School at the University of Giessen. It is to him Friday, April 18, so that he (born May 12, 1803) that we aredeeply indebted for the salvation of the Liebig Laboratory and its restoration into the Liebig Museum. See J. C~eaa. did not quite complete his seventieth year. The autopsy showed fatty degeneration of the cardiac muscle Eouc., 8,211 (1931).-Translator's note. 503
accounting for the languor and the weak pulse, and justifying the well-founded belief of the physicians that the danger lay in the heart rather than the lungs. The illness of 1870 with its severe headaches had resulted in hypertrophy of the cerebral membrane and hence there was distinct danger of acute mental disturbances, a fate which he was mercifully spared. The body was laid out in his bedroom, and Volhard, his intimate friend, colleague, and biographer, tells us,
ment on the mask presented to the Liebig Museum. In his opinion it is a real artistic achievement, characterized especially by the extraordinary clarity with which all the fine lines of the face and particularly those of the forehead have been reproduced; lines which appear in the skin as the results of psychical actuation of the facial muscles. The original mask is too valuable to be kept on display and is preserved in a vault. During the summer
Photo by Wilhelm Wulkau. This full view portrays particularly well the forehead and the lines around the eyes.
Photo by Dr. David L. Drabkin, Medical School, University of Pennsylvania. This view taken at an angle brings out very well the characteristics of the nose, mouth and chin. The head appears as in sleep.
"Although the flashing eyes which lent such a fascinating expression to the face were closed, the head nevertheless was wondrously handsome." Late Saturday, conforming to the custom observed by the common people of Munich, the remains were transferred to the public mortuary chapel of the Old South Cemetery and the burial took place a t 5: 30 the next afternoon. The two masks, then, were probably taken on Saturday, April 19, 1873. The writer, in his professional capacity, has dealt extensively with the interpretation of physiognomic expressions and has invented methods for representing objectively the most delicate movements of the facial muscles. He therefore feels competent to pass judg-
of 1933 the sculptor Knapp of Basel, a great-nephew of Liebig (his grandmother was Liebig's youngest sister, Elizabeth) made an excellent separable copy of the Giessen mask, and five reproductions of Knapp's copy have been made by Wilhelm Wulkau, technical assistant a t the neurological clinic at Giessen. The original mask has been photographed by Dr. Drabkin of the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania and also by Wulkau. The following discussion of the mask may best be followed by referring to the accompanying reproductions of these photographs. The mask extends as far as the top of the neck; reproducing only the forehead, face, and ears. The straight line measurement from chin to the top of the
forehead is 21.6 cm.; from chin to the base of the nose is 12.6 cm.; and 9.7 cm. from this point to the upper edge of the forehead. Consequently the base of the nose lies somewhat in front of the line connecting these extreme points. The forehead is powerfully developed both in breadth and height, it exhibits bone prominences over the inner eye muscles and in the center a flat groove (glabella). The root of the nose lies in a depression, the bony part of this organ projects prominently and is broad. The middle portion of the nose (soft parts) is somewhat smaller. The front part and its sides (alae) are delicately formed and show no fleshy bagginess. The chin is strongly developed in height and breadth and does not recede. The cheek bones likewise are robust and broad hut do not stand out unduly. The distance between the centers of the cheek bones is 12.7 cm.; between the ears, just forward of the auditory canals, 15.3 cm. All parts of the bony skull appear to be uniformly developed. The whole head is an harmonious, closely knit unity. The face is slightly asymmetric in that the prominence above the inner comer of the left eye is somewhat higher than that on the right, and the crack of the mouth is a trifle longer on the left side. Such asymmetries are quite common and often constitute the characteristic feature of a human face. Wbat has been said concerning the bony structure applies also to the physiognomic creases and wrinkles of the face which have been excellently reproduced. Between the prominences on the forehead above the inner corners of the eyes there rise two sharply inclined wrinkles converging as they ascend. These are the results 01 the pull of the muscle (corrugator) that wrinkles the forehead. It has been the writer's observation that this is indicative of long-continued strain during mental exertion. The left wrinkle rises somewhat higher than the right one, and both curve down into the skin of the upper eyelid and thence into the inner corner of the eye.
The transverse wrinkles of the forehead which are due to the action of the musculi frontales are less highly developed. The vertical lines dominate the picture and give the countenance an aspect of unrelenting sternness, almost threatening. The transverse lines of the root of the nose, which likewise resulted from longsustained muscular pull, aid in producing this effect. From the outer corners of the eyes there radiate outward groups of lines such as appear particularly during laughter or mirth. These mitigate the solemn severity of the facial expression. It looks almost as if the mental strain is being relieved by a friendly jest. The impression of intellectuality is especially evident around the eyes and on the brow. The lines of the nasal labia are clear and run out in a straight line from the sides of the nose to the outside a b o v e the corners of the mouth. A line extends down and outward from the left corner of the mouth and as it is more strongly emphasized than the corresponding crease at the right corner of the mouth there is again a slight asymmetry with higher tension on the left side. Between the chin and lower lip there is a wrinkle which extends lower on the right than on the left. The combined morphologic and physiognomic impression produced by this mask are such that this countenance cannot be viewed without deep emotion. Intense and prolonged absorption in intellectual pursuits, keen comprehension, tenacious adherence to ideas, determination carried almost to the point of inflexibility, with a quick readiness to defend his views (revealed especially in the vertical creases of the forehead)-these characteristics are clearly evidenced hut mellowed and humanized by a more cheerful, jovial, and kindlier expression, particularly in the laugh creases around the eyes. Such is the picture of the disposition, mental life, and character of this great scientist, Jnstus von Liebig, as preserved for us in this death mask.
