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Makeup and female beauty standards in Renaissance Italy - Leiden Medievalists Blog

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In Renaissance Italy, the female beauty ideal included features such as blonde hair and a pale skin. Women tried their best to live up to these expectations, but elaborate makeup and beauty routines were not without risk. Courtesy books often offer striking insights into past societies. Take for instance the famous Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione, which describes the characteristics of the perfect courtier and the perfect court lady. An ideal courtier was a scholar as well as an athlete, educated in Greek, Latin, history, and rhetoric, and able to wrestle, hunt and play tennis. He should be a good soldier, a great councilor, a comedian and a musician – the list of requirements goes on and on, page after page. When the discussion arrives at the courtier’s looks, however, there is not that much to say. All that is necessary is that he is neither too small nor too big, and strong and agile enough to be a warrior. This description of the perfect man of the court stands in sh

Makeup and female beauty standards in Renaissance Italy July 10, 2020 • Cultural History • 7 min read In Renaissance Italy, the female beauty ideal included features such as blonde hair and a pale skin. Women tried their best to live up to these expectations, but elaborate makeup and beauty routines were not without risk. Blonde hair and rosy lips Courtesy books often offer striking insights into past societies. Take for instance the famous Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione, which describes the characteristics of the perfect courtier and the perfect court lady. An idea

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