The Story of the Most “Kissed” Face in the World

Discover how a mysterious woman who drowned in the Seine River in France became known as the most kissed face in the world.

MEDICAL HISTORY

***Charles Bargue drawing of the “L’lnconnue de la Seine”***

Anyone who has taken a CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) course has practiced on a Resusci Anne manikin, but the story behind the face used on that manikin is fascinating.

The Drowning in the Seine

The most repeated story is that in the late 1880s a young woman, about 16 years of age, drowned in the Seine River in France. As was usual at the time her body was put on display in the Paris mortuary to see if anyone would recognize and identify her. The pathologist reportedly asked a mouleur or cast-maker, to make a death mask of the woman, who later became known as “L’lnconnue de la Seine” (the unknown woman of the Seine).

The Birth of a Muse

The mouleur started selling copies of the mask at his shop and soon the woman depicted on it became a muse for artists, writers and poets due to her half smile that Albert Camus once compared to Mona Lisa’s. The mask became very popular and reportedly was hanging on the wall in the drawing rooms (living rooms) of many fashionable Europeans. Some women of the time apparently even tried to model their looks after her.

From Mystery Muse to CPR Icon

In 1958 Asmund Laerdal, a Norwegian toy and doll manufacturer using newly formulated plastic materials, was asked to create a training aid for a new resuscitation technique called CPR. His son had nearly died of drowning a few years before, so he was very receptive to the idea. He decided on a female manikin as he thought it would be less threatening to the trainees. For the face, he reportedly remembered the face he had seen on the wall at his grandparents’ house, the “L’lnconnue de la Seine”, which then became the face of the Resusci Anne. He had a well-known sculptress, Emma Mathiassen model the face and in 1960, Resusci Anne was introduced to the world.

The "Kiss of Life"

Supplying breaths by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation during CPR is also known as the “kiss of life”, making the face of the Resusci Anne, which was modeled on the face of the “L’lnconnue de la Seine”, the most “kissed” face in the world.