Фотопортрет със смъртта
A Photo Portrait with Death

Summary/Abstract: During the 20s and 30s of the 20th century the practice to take photographs during funerals became quite popular in Bulgaria. The relatives used to pose next the coffin with the dead person before it was laid in the grave. These group portraits were widespread in villages and small towns and quickly became a specific part of the funeral ritual. They are a proof of the complicated nature of the photographic image and its significance in the life of the traditional community. These “mournful” photographs contain some elements, which have their analogues in church painting: being familiar with certain model images, the people continued to follow them, even with the means of a new and specific visual method such as photography.

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