Shaping How Others See Us: Utilising Beauty Practices for Social Influence and Public Imaging in the 15th Century

Abstract

15th-century ideas around female beauty and beauty culture were just as nuanced as today's. With strong cultural ideas around beauty and behaviour as a reflection of inner virtue, French and Italian women used cosmetics and idealised images to adhere to the beauty standard. This thesis asks to what extent elite women's application of these beauty practices could be used to facilitate social influence. This thesis addresses the gap between scholarly discussions of beauty as a concept and how cultural expectations changed how beauty practices could be applied throughout the different stages of elite women's lives. Through an analysis of selected texts and passages by 15th-century authors Isabella d'Este, Anne of France, Christine de Pizan, and Laura Cereta, this thesis will examine how these female authors viewed beauty and women's application of beauty practices through three stages of life. This thesis will examine the three stages of unmarried youth, becoming a young married woman, and finally entering old age and widowhood. For each stage of life, the chapters will analyse textual and visual sources through the lens of self-fashioning as a tool for self-representation and female agency.