Untitled, Cosmetic advertisement 

Here you see a cosmetic advertisement of unknown date by Patrick Nagel. Nagel's work captured the slick, stylish aesthetic of the 1980s, a period marked by wealth, glamour, and consumerism. The women he depicted became iconic figures, but also sparked debate. Nagel's subjects, typically white, upper-class women, were celebrated as emblems of beauty, but this narrow representation excluded many, reinforcing societal standards that marginalized women of color and those from different socio-economic backgrounds. Were they truly a celebration of women, or were they yet another form of objectification? The cool detachment in the woman's gaze and the stylized lines of the composition invite us to consider how such images both reflect and shape our desires, and how they contribute to the ongoing dialogue about identity, beauty, and representation.