Face section from a coffin

Egypt, circa 1069-664 BCE

In ancient Egyptian elite burials, coffins had representations of the deceased which idealised their features, showing them as divine and therefore perfect. The skin on this example is coloured yellow in imitation of the gold skin of the gods. It was believed the dead would become more than human in the afterlife.

The young ladies school of arts by Hannah Robertson

Edinburgh, 1766

Books of recipes for household purposes were popular in the 18^th-19^th centuries, and they often included recipes for cosmetics and beauty treatments. This book was written for Scottish women without servants: “The following treatise being intirely calculated for this northern climate… they are not intended to teach those in high life.”

“Red POMATUM for the LIPS. Take an ounce of white-wax and ox-marrow, three ounces of white pomatum, and melt all in a bath-heat; add a drahm of alkanet, and stir it till it acquire a reddish colour.”

In Britain the use of makeup has been criticised since at least the 16^th century. Caricatures satirising the vanity of men and women with fashionable hair and makeup – ‘macaronis’ – were popular in the late 18^th century.

Lydia (surname unknown) was a jazz singer and a waitress at a restaurant frequented by the sculptor Jacob Epstein, who made multiple portrait busts of her. Portrait busts usually depict their subjects with a placid expression, but here Lydia is laughing. Psychologists have found that expression has a big impact on the judgements we make from faces – people with smiling faces are considered more attractive and trustworthy.

Sybil Europaea

attributed to George Jameson, 1640

restored by Cosmo Alexander, Aberdeen, 1761

The Sybils were women believed to have predicted the coming of Christ. A set of Sybil paintings was produced for King’s College in 1640 and they were restored in 1761 by Cosmo Alexander, who dramatically altered Sybil Europaea to fill in damage. X-rays of the painting revealed that Alexander had updated the Sybil’s clothing and face, particularly the lips which were given the ‘rosebud’ shape and colour popular at the time.

Neoclassicism was a popular art style in the 18^th and 19^th centuries which was inspired by the works of ancient Greek and Roman artists. Wealthy Europeans commissioned portrait busts of themselves in the style – complete with toga! Robert Wilson left this bust to the university when he died, along with his collection of actual antiquities.

The sculptor by Thomas Rowlandson

London, circa 1800

Joseph Nollekens (1737-1823) is pictured putting the finishing touches to a sculpture. But his attention is focused on the nude model who sits among the antique statues, and whose own beauty seems to reflect their idealised appearances. Nollekens’ wife was reputedly very jealous of the women who posed for the sculptor's Venuses, and there may be an allusion here to the ancient Greek sculptor Pygmalion, who fell in love with one of his own statues.

Fragment of Apollo

Apollo was an ancient Greek god characterised by divine beauty, and a patron of the arts. His unrealistic proportions were seen as the ideal of masculine beauty as late as the neoclassical fashion in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Maria Cosway (1760-1838)

A celebrated painter, musician, singer and educator famous for her talent and beauty, Maria Cosway is shown here crowned with vine leaves, a lyre, the owl of Minerva, a lion conquered by Cupid and a statue of Apollo to highlight her association with the arts.

Masinissa (circa 238 BCE – 148 BCE)

Masinissa was king of Numidia in north Africa. He is depicted here as a handsome warrior wearing a helmet decorated with a seahorse and a dog. Behind is Venus Anadyomene, (translated as "Venus Rising from the Sea") the goddess of love and beauty, taking off her veil.