Beauty is a subject which has been a source of amazement & great contemplation for centuries. It has been said by many great men, that Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; yet, through the ages the popular view of what is beautiful has evolved. What I am specifically curious about is how the image of female beauty has changed through time & societies. I will begin this delve in the culture which appreciates beauty above all else: Italia! In the Renaissance, the female figure of beauty was a rounded, pink, & plump figure. This can be seen in thousands of paintings which usually depicted their subjects naked, as it suggested purity.
My favorite example of this is found is Raphael's Three Graces, the original painting is housed in the infamous Galleria degli Uffiizi; yet, they are figures which he used repeatedly. This is the perfect representation of beauty as held by the Renaissance society. These women are supple, inviting, & submissive, their skin is pink, & their curves are rounded: all qualities which were very desirable at the time. Another fantastic example in her most of her depictions, is Venus, as she was Beauty.
First is the painting above is Venus & Mars by Saraceni: here Venus is depicted as fair, soft, & submissive, while Mars is strong, lean, & dominant. Secondly we have the Venus of Urbino by Titian, while her facial expression suggests a stronger woman, she is still a plump character by all means, submissive & inviting. The most interesting depiction of Venus during this time period, one which has been studied at greater length than all others, & which is the only (to my knowledge) which depicts her apart from the traditional female form, is that of The Birth of Venus by Botticelli. In this painting, Venus strays from her usual form, & is found in quite more of a male physique for the time: she is more muscular, more lean, stronger. She is hardly the antithesis which is the most notable male depiction of Il David, incredibly lean & muscular, but she's straying that way. Perhaps Botticelli knew what was to come.
Continuing, into the French Revolution we see the rounded form of Marie Antoinette as the accepted form of beauty. Further still, we run into Victorian England, where the female form begins to evolve. This is the first societal use of corsets in order to accentuate a woman's hourglass figure. Hoop-dresses were used to highlight a slim waist, while the rest of the female form was kept relatively rounded. Even with this small slimming though,we see what is the beginning of the decent into our currently held notion of beauty.
Today, beauty is found in the form of slim, toned, & strong women. Women such as Victoria Beckham as displayed below. Not only very slim, but very aggressive, hardly inviting or submissive, yet men are drawn to women as such.
My favorite model is Milla Jovovich, below she likewise displays what is beautiful in this era.
She is thin, hardly the ideal candidate for child-bearing as was the traditional form of beauty. She is strong & lean, her small frame suggests she needs to be protected, which draws men; yet, her eyes, posture, & muscle tone tell you she is independent & confident. It is a different type of beauty than what we saw in Renaissance Italy. We've currently become obsessed with being thin, & displaying it at its extreme; sometimes to an unhealthy manner.
Nothing showcases this obsession quite as well as model Stella Tennant at the French Chanel fashion show:
What is boils down to however, as with a great Balsamic, is that from the time of the Renaissance to now, we've changed the form of beauty from a plump & submissive woman, to a strong, lean & muscular woman as shown by Gisele below.
Take another look at Il David, & tell me if we have not in fact, become a soceity who is all, in effect, attracted to the male form?
