The death mask of King Alexander I in commemoration of Armistice Day in France in 1934

After the assassination in Marseille, on the night between October 9 and 10, 1934, the French artist Francois Carli (1872-1957) was invited to take casts of the faces of the deceased to make death masks. Those death masks, and especially the mask of King Alexander I Karađorđević, were carried in big processions, first in Marseille. A few death masks of King Alexander were made, and we know for sure about three of them. The Carli’s work is part of the collection of the Museum of Marseille, the second bronze mask is part of the permanent exhibition of the Historical Museum of Serbia and the third – a stone mask made in 1935. The work of the sculptor Maxime Real del Sarte (1888-1954) is kept by the Museum of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

The death masks of King Alexander I were most probably made between 1934 and 1935 and had a certain function in creating the eternal memorial image of the Yugoslav king. Particularly interesting for us is the role of the first death mask of King Alexander, which was a part of the ceremony marking the Armistice Day in the First World War, on November 10 and 11 in Paris, 1934.

Tradition of death masks throughout history

Death masks are traditional in many countries. Ever since the Egyptian and ancient cultures, they had a special role in the memorial rituals and ceremonies of rulers and prominent figures in the community. In early civilizations, for example, Egyptian and Etruscan, the image of a deceased ruler was not obtained by taking a cast of the dead face, but a special mask of an idealized image was made, usually of gold, precious stones and other valuable materials, and it was placed on the face of the deceased in order to ennoble and preserve his image in the afterlife.

In Roman culture, death masks imaggines (lat. imago) were wax masks of prominent members of the political elite taken while the person was alive, and after their death, they became a symbol of patriotism and virtues of the deceased, which were supposed to inspire the living. In the Renaissance, death masks became part of the cult of preserving the memory of artists and architects. Thus, in his Lives of the Artists, Giorgio Vasari mentioned the death mask of the famous poet Dante Alighieri. It is also known that the death mask of the prominent Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi was made in 1445.

Until the beginning of the new century, the death masks of important people usually had a ritual character to honour the deceased and were an indispensable part of the process of creating a lasting memory of the deceased. At the beginning of the 19th century, masks became an important element in creating a lasting image of a sovereign and became the basis for many public monuments and memorial busts. They were made immediately after death, when skilled waxers or modellers were usually invited to take casts of the deceased’s face in wax. Since the 19th century, artists were to ones to take the casts. Further, a model would be made for a plaster, ceramic, gold or bronze mask. The cast of the face of the deceased had to be taken within a certain period of time, i.e. immediately after the death. The goal was to preserve the original image of the deceased, which would later get a special meaning.

Commemoration in Paris on the occasion of Armistice Day

The entire political and social situation following the assassination in Marseille, and the necessity to pay tribute to the tragically fallen Yugoslav king on the territory of France, caused that the first component in the commemoration of Alexander I took place in Marseille. The death masks of King Alexander I and the French Minister of the Interior, Louis Barthou, which were made already on October 10, were first exhibited in a grand, specially designed cenotaph, on the Place de la Bourse in Marseille, where many French people queued to pay tribute to the victims of the assassination. However, one month later, on November 11, 1934, on Armistice Day in the World War I, France decided to commemorate the assassinated Yugoslav king. At the cenotaph, then placed at the Arc de Triomphe, in the Place de l’Étoile, near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, under a grand flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in a small display case, the death mask of King Alexander was exhibited. Arc de Triomphe, a symbol of the fight for freedom, erected in honour of the fighters for France, on November 10 and 11, 1934, became the place of commemoration of the Yugoslav sovereign and a symbol of unbreakable Franco-Yugoslav friendship. The 1934 Armistice Day celebration ceremony was covered in detail by the French and Yugoslav press. The magazine “Le Figaro” highlighted the importance of honouring King Alexander I on the day of commemoration of the armistice in the World War I on the front page, and Yugoslav media covered the ceremony in detail.

Already on November 10, the Arc de Triomphe was wrapped in long black draperies. In the afternoon of November 10, 1934, it was stated in the press that the whole of France, through its delegates and participants in the World War I, came to pay tribute to the memory of the “Great Friend Knightly King Alexander”. It was believed that since the death of Grand Marshal Foch (Ferdinand Foch, 1851-1929), never had so many people gathered. It was particularly noted that many war invalids come to pay their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the image of King Alexander, which symbolised the inseparable brotherhood of the two nations: French and Yugoslav.

The cenotaph with the death mask and flag was especially illuminated. During the ceremony, it was guarded by the cavalry of the Republican Guard of France in ceremonial uniforms, and French soldiers from the World War I. The entire program of the ceremony was covered to reach all parts of the world.

In the Place de l’Étoile loudspeakers were placed, so that the participants in the processions were informed about every detail of the ceremony. During the night between November 10 and 11, the organ from the Notre-Dame Cathedrale was heard, accompanying the parade of soldiers from the World War I next to the cenotaph. As reported by the journalists of “Politika” and “Vreme”, that was when the church ceremony began and the atmosphere of that part of the program had the spirit of ancient ceremonies. The darkness of the night and the light of the large glass candelabra placed around the death mask gave a special mystical atmosphere. More than forty thousand veterans from the World War I paid their respects to the king. The ceremony was attended by the President of France and Princess Olga, as well as many political dignitaries from France and Yugoslavia.

On the following day, November 11, the ceremony continued. The death mask was once again ceremoniously carried through Paris towards the Arc de Triomphe in a long procession at a previously announced time. The mask was carried by members of the Veteran Association, and behind them walked soldiers from all over France decorated with French flags with many wreaths and messages addressed to the king. On that day, a special sight made the students of Paris who, in addition to a grand flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, carried a grandiose wreath placed next to the death mask at the Arc de Triomphe.

The king’s posthumous image represented a memory construction that was supposed to leave a lasting visual impression in the collective memory. The iconic portrait of King Alexander I was at the centre of all the ceremonies, and it symbolised the presence of the king.

A detailed description of the Armistice Day ceremony in Paris in 1934 represented a well-structured program that contained all the elements of an ephemeral spectacle. In a symbolic and political sense, it was a grand spectacle, and it glorified the knightly King Alexander and the unbreakable friendship with France. The ceremony took the form of a mass performance, a public ceremony of mourning for the fallen king, where the death mask had a central place.