Schönheit 1922

Eduard Veith painted this portrait, titled Schönheit, in Austria, though the exact date remains unknown. Veith was a commercial artist, producing posters, postcards, and illustrations for books and magazines. So here we see him engaging with the cult of female beauty that was developing at the turn of the century. Take in the woman’s white dress, her carefully styled hair, and the single red rose she delicately holds. Note, too, her upper-class status indicated by the expensive shawl draped across her body. These kinds of images helped to shape the modern beauty industry. Yet it’s important to remember that standards of beauty are never neutral. They reflect ideas about race, class, and gender. And they’re often linked to the economic and political interests of institutions like the advertising industry and the art world. As historians, we need to consult a wide range of materials – magazines, newspapers, advertisements, and institutional records – to understand how art engages with social and cultural values. By doing so, we can develop a more nuanced understanding of the politics of beauty and representation.