Why are we inflicting modern beauty standards on old paintings?
In a sentence that will likely leave art historians bereft and relieved in equal measure, it was recently revealed conservators had removed the quote “Kylie Jenner treatment” from a 17th-century portrait. Changing standards of conventional beauty have pushed even Jacobean women to plump their lips and lower their hairlines, which begs the question – why are timeless portraits being changed to keep up?
The portrait in question was of Diana Cecil, famed as one of her time’s great beauties. Done by Cornelius Johnson in 1638, conservators in 2023 found that sometime between its original painting and the 19th century, subtle tweaks had been made to her lips and face. In removing a thick layer of yellow varnish, conservators found significant overpainting, which has now been removed.
English Heritage, who own the collection the painting belongs to, made parallels to modern beauty standards. “As a modern society with access to digital beauty filters and AI technology, we might think we know better than most eras the temptation to ‘perfect our appearance, but the conservation work to Diana Cecil has shown that this is not a new phenomenon,” a curator told Tatler.
Interestingly, it was also said that: “Arbitrary and ever-changing beauty standards do seem to echo through the ages”. Not only that, but the relentless need to keep reinventing classic paintings with a modern injection is now easier than ever. AI can rustle up a version of Girl with a Pearl Earring with hoop earrings quicker than you can type in the prompt, but there’s something quite tragic about that.
Plain, makeup-free portraits of women are now considered prime real estate to be dragged into the 21st century, and it’s an endless ouroboros of changing standards. With Diana Cecil, only two centuries after her portrait was complete, someone felt she wasn’t quite pretty enough. In modern times, we simply inflict another ideal on her. The fact a 17th-century revision to a painting is considered “Kylie Jenner treatment” just speaks to today’s standard.
It’s a specifically modern ailment to look to classic art and not be able to see beyond contemporary beauty standards. The greatest shame of it is that the technical mastery of the artists involved gets totally cast aside, as does the unique look of the paintings from specific periods.
Even now, the statue of Aphrodite, created by the Praxiteles of Athens in the 4th century BC, is not spoken about because of the painstaking technique that went into carving it. Instead, it’s become a descriptor – a body shape. Aphrodite is, apparently, pear-shaped. The Mona Lisa was the first to perfect the pout. The list goes on. The only thing that remains timeless about portraits of women is that their appearance will be critiqued.
