Original Article The Last Glance: How Aesthetic Observation of Corpses Facilitates Detachment in Grief Work Ines Testoni 1,2 , Alessia Zielo 1 , Chiara Schiavo 3 , and Erika Iacona 1 Abstract Following a ritual perspective, the paper identifies a new form of ritual concerning the corpse, which could facilitate separation and allow the living to look at the deceased without disgust. In order to explore the effect of thanato-aesthetic inter- ventions, the experience of the last glance of the bereaved at their deceased loved ones was analyzed. Twenty interviews were performed in three morgues, and the- matic analysis was utilized. The aim was to illustrate how post-mortem grief may be affected by aesthetic manipulation of the corpse and ways in which the bereaved relocate their beloveds. The fundamental hypothesis is that the facilitation of con- crete contact with the corpse may assist mourners to detach from the deceased. From the qualitative analysis, three areas of meaning prevalence emerged: Ku ¨bler- Ross phases of grief work and the conspiracy of silence; immortality and continuing bonds; and the effects of thanato-aesthetic interventions. Keywords grief, continuing bonds, corpse, thanato-aesthetics, disgust, mortuary rite 1 FISPPA Department, Univesity of Padova 2 Emili Sagol Creative Arts Therapies Research Center, University of Haifa 3 State Police, Padua Police Department, Mortuary Police of Padova Corresponding Author: Ines Testoni, Universita ` degli Studi di Padova, Via Venezia, 12/2, Padova 35131, Italy. Email: ines.testoni@unipd.it Illness, Crisis & Loss 0(0) 1–17 ! The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1054137320933592 journals.sagepub.com/home/icl