Funerary Art

A beautiful but rather avoided topic, cemeteries are repositories of cultural anthropology. These memorials are the last record and often the last expression of who we were.

577 Pins

·1mo

Trish W

Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier

Arlington National Cemetery

National Cemetery

United States Military

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier serves as a symbolic grave for all war dead whose remains have not been found or identified. The Tomb began with one unknown service member from World War I, & today is the grave of three unidentified service members. Its meaning has evolved to represent the memory of all military members throughout American history. Tomb Sentinels from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Regiment’s “The Old Guard” have guarded the Tomb for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year regardless of the weather, since 1948. Honor, respect, & commitment are why this place continues to be guarded 24 hours a day, as per tradition, even during hurricanes & blizzards. The Tomb Guards have contingencies if the weather conditions ever place the soldiers at risk of injury or death.

a cemetery with many blue crosses and flowers growing in it's garden area,

Carving Painting

Bonaventure Cemetery

Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Cimitirul Vesel, the Merry Cemetery | Billion Graves

In 1936, Stan Patras began carving wooden crosses to mark the graves of community members in his small town of Săpânța, Romania. Each was uniquely designed for the deceased. Patras painted brilliant colors on the memorials, including their occupation, hobby, or talent, such as shepherds tending their sheep, or mothers cooking. He didn’t confine himself to traditional flowery epitaphs either. Inscriptions include references to priests that envy the wicked, drunkards, & mother-in-law jokes. His apprentice, Dumitru Pop, continues the work, carving & painting 20 -30 grave markers each year, as needed.

sunbeams shine through the trees in an old cemetery

Unesco World Heritage Site

Okunoin

Okunoin is Japan’s largest cemetery, with over 200,000 graves & memorial monuments spanning a bit over 1 mile. Opened in 835 AD, many gravesites belong to monks & feudal lords. It houses the mausoleum of Kūkai, founder of the Shingon school of esoteric Buddhism. Mount Kōya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.

a cemetery with many statues and trees in the background on a cloudy, overcast day

The Wooldridge Monuments

A set of historical monuments located in Maplewood Cemetery of Mayfield, Kentucky were built for Colonel Henry G. Wooldridge from 1892 until Wooldridge's death on May 30, 1899. They commemorate his family members. The grouping includes his 2 favorite dogs, a deer, a fox, & Wooldridge astride his favorite horse. The lot has been called "The Strange Procession Which Never Moves."

an old cemetery with many headstones and trees in the background

Opinion: ‘Until we meet again, brave little cat.’ The heartbreak and taboo of burying our pets | CNN

an old cemetery with many headstones in front of it and a house on the other side

San Miguel De Allende

Who Was the Mysterious Woman Buried Alone at the Pet Cemetery?

Who Was the Mysterious Woman Buried Alone at the Pet Cemetery? - The New York Times

several white poles in the middle of a field with trees and grass on either side

She lived in a New York hotel for more than 40 years. But her life was a mystery

She lived in a New York hotel for more than 40 years. But her life was a mystery : NPR

an old cemetery with stone benches and moss covered trees in the background, surrounded by spanish moss

Stock Photos People

George Mason University

‘Tombstone tourists’ find the beauty and joy in cemetery visits | CNN

‘Tombstone tourists’ travel to the world’s coolest cemeteries | CNN

Opinion: ‘Until we meet again, brave little cat.’ The heartbreak and taboo of burying our pets | CNN

Opinion: 'Until we meet again, brave little cat.' The heartbreak and taboo of burying our pets | CNN

an artistic image of a cemetery surrounded by trees

Want to Lead a Better Life? The Secret Is in the Cemetery. (Published 2023)

Want to Lead a Better Life? The Secret Is in the Cemetery. - The New York Times

Russian Ballet

Nobel Prize In Literature

Russian ballet great Rudolph Nureyev

The beautifully intricate mosaic of an Oriental carpet recalls Nureyev's Tatar heritage. Interment at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Orthodox Cemetery, established in 1927 just outside Paris. Most of those buried here came in the first great wave of Russian émigrés fleeing the Bolshevik Revolution. They include ballet prodigy Rudolf Nureyev, filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, Nobel literature laureate Ivan Bunin, aristocrats such as Prince Felix Yusupov, & members of the imperial Romanov family.

a man in bee suit standing next to some beeshives

Royal beekeeper tasked with informing queen’s bees of her death

Royal beekeeper tasked to inform queen's bees of her death

an angel statue sitting in the middle of a cemetery

At Celebrity Cemetery, Nature Takes on Starring Role | NY Times

Père-Lachaise was established in 1804. Today some 1.3 million individuals are interred within its 110 acres, a figure equal to about half of Paris’s living population. The ‘golf green’ maintenance regimen meant gallons of pesticides were used. That finally changed in 2015 with a ban on weedkillers. Now Père-Lachaise is becoming an important urban haven for the plants & wildlife coming back to delight visitors - which now include birdwatchers among the historians & tourist celebrity seekers.

Funerary Art

A beautiful but rather avoided topic, cemeteries are repositories of cultural anthropology. These memorials are the last record and often the last expression of who we were.

577 Pins

·1mo

Trish W