Phrenology was all the rage in 1823 when the life mask of William Blake was sculpted by J.S. Deville, noted practitioner of same. Blake's proportions were all wrong for the requirements of the pseudo-science, so a few adjustments were made. Hence, the poet's image four years before his death looked nothing like his earlier portraits. When Francis Bacon painted his version of the mask a century and a quarter later, Blake became Mussolini.
But now a new mask has surfaced. It is, in fact, a death mask taken by a physician who was not overly impressed with skull shape and noggin bumps. It reveals a Blake at peace with life's fate, maybe even amused by it. There is now less reason to wonder why the epitaph on his tombstone reads "Bring On the Flies." (RIP Chico Science)
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