En los reales de Venus. Belleza, feminidad y virtud en la corte castellana del siglo XV
In the camps of Venus. Beauty, femininity, and virtue in the Castilian court of the 15th century
Abstract
This paper focuses on the study of beauty routines and cosmetics used by the Castilian queens throughout the 15th and early 16th centuries as part of the creation of their own power image. Therefore, the criticisms and warnings issued by chroniclers, writers and theologians who saw in these new practices a threat to morality will be analysed. Moreover, the prevailing Castilian female aesthetic canon will be examined and compared to the queens’ preserved descriptions. The existing concepts of femininity and virtue, as well as the different cosmetics and utensils used by queens, will also be studied.
El presente trabajo se centra en el estudio de las rutinas de belleza y de los cosméticos empleados por las reinas castellanas a lo largo del siglo XV y principios del XVI como parte del proceso de construcción de su imagen de poder. Para ello, se analizarán las críticas y advertencias vertidas por cronistas, literatos y teólogos que veían en estas nuevas prácticas una amenaza a la moralidad, y se examinarán el canon estético femenino imperante en Castilla, comparándolo con las descripciones conservadas de las distintas monarcas, los conceptos de feminidad y virtud vigentes por aquel entonces, así como los distintos cosméticos y utensilios empleados en el ámbito reginal.
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