‘Bellezza e Bruttezza’: Exploring the beauty and the beast myth in Renaissance art

If the ever-resonating myth of Beauty and the Beast originates from antiquity, it was in the Renaissance that these two contradictory ideals were vividly interpreted by artists.

Bozar’s flagship exhibition of the season, Bellezza e Bruttezza. The Ideal, the Real and the Caricature in the Renaissance, brings together some 95 exceptional and rarely-seen works.

It is an exemplary show, not only for the quality of the paintings, prints and drawings on display, but for its coherent narrative that ensures it is an accessible experience. Visitors are immersed in a rich and pivotal period from the last quarter of the 15th century to the late 16th century when notions of beauty, as well as ugliness, underwent transformation.

From idealised, passive images of women and voluptuous portraits infused with colour, symbolism and imagery, to depictions of aging, physical distortions and irreverent court jesters, this is a captivating and insightful juxtaposition that highlights the moral values attached to each aesthetic.

The collection of works capturing this polarised moment in art history originate from two beacons of Renaissance art: Italy and Northern Europe, and the Low countries in particular. It reunites grand masters from the south, such as Botticelli, Titien and de Vinci, alongside those of the north, including Jan Gossaert, Adriaen Thomazs Key, Frans Floris de Vriendt and Cranach the Elder.

With the original inspiration for beauty dating from Greco-Roman times, the exhibition begins its journey with a series of works capturing antiquity’s preoccupation with harmony. An anonymous Roman sculpture of Venus greets visitors, an example of the application of mathematical proportions in depicting human forms.

Another striking work is by Jan Gossaert, a Flemish Renaissance artist who travelled to Italy and thereafter adopted a Romanism style. His 1521 painting of Venus (pictured) on a wooden panel is a sculptural ode to idealised feminine beauty. Admiring herself in a mirror, the young woman’s hand gracefully preserves her modesty, while the inclusion of Mars’ helmet and Cupid’s bow and arrows alludes to classical mythology.

A much-admired work by Renaissance artists was the Roman sculpture The Three Graces (pictured), on loan from the Vatican Museum. The intertwined three charities are an eye-catching vision; the two outer figures turned towards the viewer, while the central one embraces her friends.

Curator Chiara Rabbi Bernard is credited with amassing such prestigious works for the exhibition, “which offers a new perspective on the dynamic tension between beauty and ugliness, exploring their most compelling expressions.”

If portraiture was the principle representation of beauty and its counterpart, a series of static figures underline the mode for a more realistic style. Profile pictures were popular, imitating the fashion for reliefs on coins and medals.

Inspiration was also drawn from real-life muses. The Allegorical Portrait of a Woman (pictured) by Sandro Botticelli is a stunning painting of a woman, thought to be Simonetta Vespucci. The artist employs a finely-tuned technique to achieve her flawless complexion, while her intricate braided and pearl-studded hair replicate a detailed neckpiece. She extracts milk from her breast with her fingers in an ultimate symbol of fertility.

This vision of beauty is offset by Tintoretto’s Scipio Clusone with a dwarf valet (pictured), a significant large-scale work depicting a sea captain from a notable family alongside his manservant, who is equally dressed in elegant attire. It is the figure with the physical attributes who possesses the power in this relationship.

Another arresting portrait, by an anonymous artist, shows the splendidly gowned seven-year-old Madeleine Gonzales, a member of a family who were notorious for their hirsute appearance, the result of a genetic anomaly.

The Renaissance was also an age when ‘artifice’ grew in popularity, along with the rise of the use of cosmetics to enhance beauty while camouflaging blemishes. But the products used often contained harmful substances, which could lead to the opposite of the desired effect.

Divine ideals were inseparable from grotesque images; they reinforce each other, as Leonardo da Vinci pointed out. Paris Bordone’s Junge Dame mit Spiegel und Magd shows a young attractive woman, partially bare breasted, looking into a mirror held up by an older woman; a reminder perhaps of the transience of youth.

A drawing by da Vinci, Grotesk Head of a Woman in Profile (pictured), is an example of artists’ creating a new genre of ‘beautiful ugliness’ with caricatured, exaggerated features destined to entertain viewers. The penchant for distortion, especially when portraying the marginalised in society, was particularly prevalent in Flanders.

Raucous group scenes follow, such as a group portrait of amorous elderly folk, A Merry Company, by Jan Massys (pictured). They may appear intent on pleasure but the message is that older people should no longer be sexually active.

This comedic streak continues with a section dedicated to fools and jesters; tragic-comic characters ever-present in royal courts. They evoke colourful scenes of pageantry and carnival traditions where social order was reversed so that even the local fool could aspire to be the prince for a day.

A series of ill-matched couples ensue: the confrontation between the two poles shown at their most extreme. Three paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder reinforce the premise of ‘unequal couples,’ including an old man with a young girl in his lascivious grasp, while she in turn lightens his money purse. In a similar vein, an older woman proffers her riches to a handsome young man. There’s a moral tale in this association of youth and old age, an exploration of the human condition in all its fragility. 

Fran Floris de Vriendt’s Pomona concludes the exhibition with a return to mythological inspiration. The Roman goddess revels in the fruit of the harvest, her head turned by the satyr Pan, intent on seduction. The composition and use of light in the painting highlights the two opposing worlds of vice and virtue.

This dual perception of beauty and ugliness continues in a parallel exhibition, Picture Perfect, running from 7 March to 16 August at Bozar. Some 55 contemporary artists challenge the notion of beauty in photography and video; a timely reminder of the universality and pertinence of the theme.

Bellezza e Bruttezza. The Ideal, the Real and the Caricature in the Renaissance
Until 14 June
Bozar,
Rue Ravenstein 23
Brussels

Photos: ©Frans Floris de Vriendt_Pomona 1565 Hallwylska Museet Stockholm; Sandro-Botticelli (attributed to) Allegorical Portrait of a Woman; Frangipane Repas Bachique Musee Soissons; Sandro Botticelli (attributed to) Allegorical Portrait of a Woman; Tintoretto Scipio Clusone with a Dwarf Valet; Anonymous Portrait of Madeleine Gonzáles; Leonardo da Vinci Grotesk Head of a Woman in Profile; Jan Massys A Merry Company; Master from 1537 Fool Looking through His Fingers; Lucas Cranach the Elder The Ill Matched Lovers