Tomb effigy

A tomb effigy (French: gisant ("lying")) is a sculpted effigy of a deceased person usually shown lying recumbent on a rectangular slab, presented in full ceremonial dress or wrapped in a shroud, and shown either dying or shortly after death. Such funerary and commemorative reliefs were first developed in Ancient Egyptian and Etruscan cultures, and appear most frequently in Western European tombs from the late 11th century, in a style that continued in use through the Renaissance and early modern period, and is still sometimes used. They typically represent the deceased in a state of "eternal repose", with hands folded in prayer, lying on a pillow, awaiting resurrection. A husband and wife may be depicted lying side by side.

Medieval life-size recumbent effigies were first used for tombs of royalty and senior clerics, before spreading to the nobility. A particular type of late medieval effigy was the transi, or cadaver monument, in which the effigy is in the macabre form of a decomposing corpse, or such a figure lies on a lower level, beneath a more conventional effigy. Mourning or weeping figures, known as pleurants were added to important tombs below the effigy. Non-recumbent types of effigy became popular during the Renaissance. By the early Modern period, European effigies were often shown as alive, either kneeling or in a more active pose, especially for military figures. Variations show the deceased lying on their side as if reading, kneeling in prayer, or even standing. The recumbent effigy had something of a revival during the 19th-century Gothic revival, especially for bishops and other clerics.

Some of the best-known examples of the form are in Westminster Abbey in London, St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice (twenty-five Doges), and the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence.

The religious beliefs of the societies that produced the earliest Egyptian effigies (which date to c. 2700–2200 BC, during the Old Kingdom) are unknown but are usually assumed by modern archeologists to have commemorated either fallen Gods or members of royalty. Their meaning can only be guessed at: modern archeologists see them as depictions intended to house the souls of the dead, intended to identify them as they travel through the realm of the dead. The earliest known tomb effigy is that of Djoser (c. 2686–2613 BC), found in the worship chamber of the Pyramid of Djoser. The effigies were typically smaller than life-size.

Funerary masks were used throughout the Egyptian periods. Examples range from the gold masks of Tutankhamun and Psusennes I to the Roman "mummy portraits" from Hawara and the Fayum. Whether in a funerary or religious context, the purpose of a mask was the same: to transform the wearer from a mortal to a divine state. The Romans continued this tradition of idolatry, and also created many other types of effigies. The faces are often clearly portraits of individuals.

Recumbent effigies were a common tradition in the funerary art of the Etruscans, an advanced civilisation and culture that developed in central Italy before 700 BC and flourished until the late second century BC. Their effigies were typically carved in high relief, and produced in a variety of materials, including ceramic, terracotta, marble, limestone and alabaster. Structurally, they fall into two categories: small squarish cinerary urns for cremation and near life-sized rectangular sarcophagi for burials, with cremation becoming more popular over the centuries. Etruscan culture viewed the dead as no less complete than the living and existing in a realm where they were forever either in despair or enjoying material comfort. From 500 BC, the effigies show the deceased as they looked while alive. They are often lavishly dressed and enjoying food and drink as if at a feast. They are typically reclining (as if alive) rather than recumbent (as if dead), with open eyes turned towards the viewer, and are often propped up on a pillow while leaning on their arm or elbow.

By the 7th century the Etruscans were depicting human heads on canopic urns. When they started to bury their dead in the late 6th century they used terracotta sarcophagi, with an image of the deceased reclining on the lid alone or with a spouse. The Etruscan style influenced late Ancient Greek, especially in the manner of showing the dead as they had been in life, typically in the stele (stone or wooden slabs usually built as funerary markers) format. Any aspects of the style were adapted by the Romans, and eventually spread as far as Western Asia.

Pre-historic Romans of Palatine Hill often cremated their dead (usually on pyres), while those of the Quirinal Hill would entomb the body. Eventually, the two practices merged, wherein the actual body was entombed, and an effigy of the deceased was burned. The Romans adopted the Etruscan tomb formats, maintaining the practice of showing the deceased as they were while alive. Roman sarcophagi were built from marble, and over time took on a more a contemplative, spiritual and redemptive iconographical tone, emphasising the deceased's former hierarchical role in society.