Wide eyebrows or lack of them? What was fashionable in different eras and centuries.
Trends change at the speed of light, sometimes we don’t even keep up with them. I wonder if there were fashion trends several centuries ago? And in the XNUMXth century? Nobody can answer this question. That is why we decided to analyze the paintings of famous artists and understand what styling and makeup were in fashion in a particular era.
Fragment of the painting “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli, 1482-1486
Everyone knows about the painting “The Birth of Venus”, because this is one of the most famous paintings by Botticelli. She depicts Venus with a tired and pensive look, but this does not make her ugly. They say that she posed for the artist Simonetta Vespucci (beloved of Giuliano Medici). Red wavy hair seems to flutter in the wind: it is clear that the main part of her hair is not curly, which means that the girl specially curled them around her face in order to seem more pretty.
Raphael’s Lady with the Unicorn, 1505-1506
20 years later, Raphael painted his painting “The Lady with the Unicorn”, and we see a completely different picture – the girl’s hair seems to be twisted back. The women paid particular attention to their hairstyles and made them very skillfully. Also in fashion was absolutely white skin without a single hint of tan. That is why many women applied white on their face and body.
“Portrait of a Young Woman”. Albrecht Durer, 1506
Dürer’s “Portrait of a Young Woman” shows us that girls were already grooming their eyebrows at that time. Just take a look at this lady’s eyebrows, which are very neatly styled. His face was still pale, which showed that he belonged to high society.
“Girl with a Pearl Earring”. Jan Vermeer, 1665
“Girl with a Pearl Earring” shows that natural beauty needs to be complemented with a light blush. As we all know from the fairy tale “Frost”, this can be achieved with the help of a little tingling of the cheeks. Perhaps they used more unusual ways to do this.
“The Lady in Blue”. Thomas Gainsborough, 1770-1780
Pale faces did not give up their positions in the XNUMXth century either. However, it was then that doctors began to notice that the whitewash, which the girls were so fond of, very dry the skin and brings the kidneys to toxic lesions. For a while, girls were banned from using any skin lightening products, but then this trend returned anyway. But even then, at least some, yes, cosmetic production began to improve. Pale skin, light blush and black eyebrows were a real trend that all women followed.
The girls also paid much attention to hairstyles. They specially raised their hair in tiers so that the styling looked as pretentious as possible, but still sophisticated.
“Maria Frederica of Prussia”. Joseph Karl Steeler, 1825-1889
The Prussian princess, captured in the painting of Steeler, would look very beautiful in our time. Perfect eyebrows, which are slightly tinted with soot, are the main accent on the face. In addition, many historians report that in those days thin skin was in fashion, which is why girls painted veins over the whitewash.
“Portrait of the actress Jeanne Samary”. Pierre Auguste Renoir, 1877
French actress Jeanne Samary had a very striking appearance. It seems that she naturally had dark eyebrows. It was she who became the muse and model of many of Renoir’s paintings, who tried to capture all the versatility of her beauty. The trend for bright lipstick did not give up its positions, however, as did the blush. At the same time, the girls began to emphasize their eyes with a black pencil to make the eyes look more expressive.
“Meda Primavezi”. Gustav Klimt, 1912
And now the beginning of the XX century. The time when cosmetics in their usual form finally appear. This was demonstrated by Gustave Klimt in the painting “Mada Primavezi”. With the naked eye, you can see that the entire arsenal of cosmetics is applied to the girl’s face: blue shades, blush, and lipstick. It was lipstick of a bright shade that was incredibly popular at the beginning of the last century.