The Reception of Antiquity in Modern Cosmetic Advertising and Marketing
I’m Your Venus
The Reception of Antiquity in Modern Cosmetic Advertising and Marketing
I’m Your Venus
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Description
Since the 19th century, the modern cosmetics industry has drawn on classical images and references to create a perception of idealized beauty as a way of advertising its products. Using visual, literary, documentary and archaeological evidence, the contributors offer a series of different case studies to showcase how antiquity has been used in the advertising and marketing of cosmetic products ranging from makeup to menstrual products, perfume and skin cream.
Beginning with the interaction between cosmetic advertising, Hollywood films and the notion of ancient knowledge as a political propaganda tool, the contributors then move on to discuss the prominence of certain ancient figures – divine or human – in the modern cosmetics industry. Figures such as Venus, Cleopatra and Selene demonstrate how the industry has used the ancient world to promote various, often toxic, standards such as whiteness or exoticism (which are not mutually exclusive), thinness, femininity, masculinity and youth. The final sections of the book then take a deep dive into particular cosmetic types. Internal illustrations bring this book to life, and readers can also find the accompanying online exhibition at https://makeupmuseum.org/im-your-venus/.
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Table of Contents
List of Contributors
Introduction (Jane Draycott, University of Glasgow and Laurence Totelin, Cardiff University, UK)
Part 1: Cinema, Entertainment and Cosmetics
1. The Black Venus: Josephine Baker and Early Twentieth Century Cosmetics (Grace McGowan, Boston University, USA)
2. Sphinx Pink Lipstick and Salome Red Nail Polish: Marketing Cosmetics and Ancient World Epics in Studio-Era Hollywood (Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Cardiff University, UK)
3. Selling Personal Glamour: Jergens Lotion, Neronian Decadence, and Christian Purity (Lauren Ginsberg, Duke University, USA)
4. Actually, I'm Your Venus: Reading KKW Body as Sculpture (Hallie Franks, NYU Gallatin, USA)
Part 2: Queens, Goddesses and Gods
5. Semiramis, Dido, Zenobia and Other 'Historically Famous Oriental Queens' as Advertising Icons in a 1911 Palmolive Cosmetics Campaign (Anja Wieber, Dortmund University, Germany)
6. The Use of Cleopatra VII in Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Soap Advertising (Jane Draycott, University of Glasgow, UK)
7. The Goddess Remixed: Situating Lime Crime's Venus Range from the Blog to the Temple (Rhiannon Easterbrook, Institute of Classical Studies, UK)
8. Looking Back in Beauty: Orpheus and Eurydice in the Cosmetics Industry (Stacie Raucci, Union College, USA)
9. Eros Invictus? Scenting the (Greek) Male Body (Ricarda Meisl, New York University, USA)
Part 3: Perfumes
10. The Fragrance of Places we Have Not Known (Sean Coughlin, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic)
11. Responses to Greek and Roman Archaeological Containers in Modern Perfume and Cosmetic Packaging (Thomas J. Derrick, University of Leicester, UK)
12. Perfume Advertising Strategies and Classical Antiquity: Roles and Meaning of Greek and Roman Reference in Long-Term Marketing Campaigns (Claire Mercier, University Franche-Comté, and Fabien Bievre-Perrin, University of Lorraine, France)
Part 4: Hygiene, Skincare and Class
13. Bloody Moon Review: Selene's myth, Between Hegemony and Antagonism in Contemporary Menstruation Brands and Advertisements (Anna Chiara Corradino, University of Bologna, Italy)
14. 'Complexion is the Principal Seat of Beauty': Antiquity and Hygiene in Early Twentieth Century French Cream Advertising (Laurence Totelin, Cardiff University, UK)
Afterward (Hillary Belzer, Makeup Museum, USA)
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | 21 Jan 2027 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | 9781350455337 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Illustrations | 41 bw illus |
| Series | IMAGINES – Classical Receptions in the Visual and Performing Arts |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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