The Female Beauty Ideal in Europe During the Renaissance
Introduction
The phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” suggests that beauty is subjective - each person sees beauty through their own perspective. But with that being said, the way that beauty is perceived has changed throughout time and is quite influenced by society through political, economic, and cultural aspects. The Renaissance, a European era from the 1300s to the 1600s, has a very specific ideal of beauty for women in terms of hair, makeup, facial features, and clothing. Because of this, artists of that era like Botticelli use their art to represent women deemed beautiful. Beauty during the Renaissance was very specific and one of a kind, only a small amount of women were able to fit those standards. What are the necessary characteristics for European women to be considered beautiful during the Renaissance? These standards are regarded towards many different aspects such as outfits, hair, makeup, and specific facial characteristics.
Facial Features and Hair
When it comes to a woman’s facial features, the ideal would be for one to have blonde hair, a high forehead, thin eyebrows, vermillion cheeks, dark eyes, a small red mouth, and a relatively long neck. Indeed, blonde hair was very important to have, and women who weren’t naturally born with it would attempt to bleach or lighten their hair by laying it under the sun for hours, in hopes that it would get lighter. In Joanna Woods-Marsden’s “Portrait of the Lady, 1430-1520”, women in Italy would go to very far lengths to achieve blonde hair - although being usually brunettes with darker skin “Even in the Renaissance, it seems, signori preferred blondes. Dye was used to coloring the hair so that it would resemble the cultural ideal, familiar from the Petrarchan poetic tradition, of the beloved’s golden locks - visually embodied in Botticelli's Primavera (fig. I.)” (Woods-Marsden, 2001, p. 67). Indeed, the Italian painter Botticelli is quite famous for showcasing the ideal woman and what one should expect to look like. In his painting Primavera, the women are all fair-skinned with golden hair, and very delicate features such as thin eyebrows, small mouths, and high foreheads. Overall, this creates a very specific ideal of beauty for women, pressuring them to look one way only.
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Makeup
When using makeup, women in the Renaissance would do many things in order to achieve a certain look that was unanimously agreed upon to be beautiful. Indeed, women would apply white powders such as ground alabaster all over the face in order to make their skin look paler. Some would even mix mercury with it and apply some onto their cheeks to add a certain healthy glow to their skin. In order to achieve the appearance of a higher forehead, some women would pluck their hairlines in order to get that desired look. Their lashes were expected to be short and thin, and their lips should have some light rouge on them - to show that they had beautiful, small, red mouths. The painting “La Bella” by Titian demonstrates the continual idea of beauty such as the small red mouth, long neck, high forehead, and white skin - which all women tried to achieve through makeup and tweezing. Titian was wanting to create the painting of the most beautiful woman on earth, which ended up being a highly desirable painting for male collections. Overall, women would need to follow many certain steps to be able to fit the ideal beauty expectations that were deemed upon them.
Clothing and Jewellery
As for clothing, what was expected of women during the Renaissance can be seen through the painting Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement by Fra’ Filippo Lippi. In this portrait, one can see that women were covered in jewelry and showed in the most expensive guards that they could afford - doing this for dowries, to get them married. Indeed, these clothes were usually paid for by the women’s fathers, in hopes to wed them - marriage being traditionally the most important part of their lives. One aspect of clothing that was specifically essential was the sleeves on a woman’s outfit. Sleeves are very important in women’s fashion, produced separately and often very elaborately done. Some other details such as the headdress and jewelry were quite important as well. Moreover, headdresses were extremely elaborate: a woman would usually have her hair up, which shows modesty. Furthermore, having one’s hair down would mean that one would be more inviting toward men. Also, the woman in this painting is seen wearing lots of jewelry like a head brooch with pearls and other stones, and some rings. She’s also wearing pearls, which represent chastity and purity. The red rubies on her ring often signify love too. Generally, women were shown on the left side of the face, and the husband on the right side - which is considered the superior side. One can notice that the husband is gazing into the woman’s eyes, which shows potential love between the husband and wife. This proves that the woman’s overall appearance has indeed won over her partner’s heart, showing women that this is the kind of look they should be going for in order to get wedded.
Going Against Beauty Ideals
One artist that went against beauty standards in their work was the very famous Leonardo Da Vinci. In his painting of the Mona Lisa, the way in which the Mona Lisa is portrayed is rather new. Indeed, her hands are displayed naturally and quite elegantly. One can also notice the mysterious background, which was quite unusual at the time. She also has no jewelry whatsoever, which shows that her own beauty and character are captivating - not the other elements such as jewelry, clothes, and makeup. Also, she is looking right at the viewer, which was also quite unexpected since women would usually look at the side - a sign of weakness. This shows how much she dominates and is in control of herself. Moreover, she seems to be connected to the background - to nature - and has some sort of internal feeling and sentiment which is expressed in her eyes. Overall, the whole idea of the Mona Lisa is to go against societal expectations of beauty towards women during the Renaissance. By showing this, women can feel as if being beautiful shouldn’t necessarily mean looking one exact way.
The Impact of These Beauty Ideals
The article “Perceptions of Beauty in Renaissance Art” by Neil Haughton talks about how unrealistic beauty expectations have always been, not just in today’s society.
Haughton (2004) mentions the following:
Modern magazines are often criticized for portraying models who are too thin or whose images have been enhanced in some way. They may lead to unrealistic expectations in young people, contributing to anorexia and low self-esteem. The image of beauty we currently aspire to is as unrealistic as Botticelli's Venus and is hardly fair to impose on society at large. But as can be seen from studying a few Renaissance paintings, the problem is not new. There seems to be an innate desire to depict and look at idealized and unattainable features and bodies. (p. 233)
This shows that no matter what day and age, there have always and will probably always be unattainable expectations of beauty for women. Although we’re currently in a society that is working towards inclusivity and celebrating diversity, there still remains a huge pressure for women to look a certain way in order to feel truly appreciated. Whether it’s through magazine covers or paintings, women will always have to portray a certain desirable image of beauty that’s often too specific.
In conclusion, women had a very constant and precise approach when it came to the beauty that was pretty much unanimous. Whether it’s through makeup, facial features, jewelry, or clothing, women and men had the same expectations that were considered to represent beauty. Artists like Botticelli, Titian, and Filippo Lippi were able to represent those ideals, but others also decided to go against them such as Da Vinci. Overall, this shows that there’s always been pressure for women to look a certain way in order to be considered beautiful.
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