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1 year ago in Material Culture By Rani

Where can I find academic articles on the social and material history of make-up in medieval and modern (Renaissance to 19th century) Europe?

My research views cosmetics as tools for studying gender, class, trade, and chemistry. I need peer-reviewed articles that analyze recipes, trade in ingredients like ceruse, regulation, and the shifting moral discourses around painted faces from the Middle Ages through the Victorian era.

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By Yusuf ali Answered 8 months ago

For peer-reviewed articles, target interdisciplinary journals like Fashion Theory, Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Gender & History, and Eighteenth-Century Studies. I recommend starting with the foundational work of scholars like Kathy Peiss and Giorgio Riello, who analyze cosmetics within broader histories of consumption and the body. For the medieval period, look for articles by Monica H. Green on medical recipes that double as cosmetics. Your themes—trade (e.g., Venetian ceruse), regulation (e.g., English Puritan laws), and moral discourse—are well-covered in these journals. Search databases like JSTOR using combined terms: "cosmetics AND early modern," "paint AND face AND morality."

 

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