Take a good look at this painting from about 1650 by an anonymous English artist, and think about what it all means. Here we have two wealthy women’s three-quarter portraits — they wear jewelry and fancy clothes, and they are posed in a mirror image of each other. Suggestive of equality, right? But one woman is black and the other white — this juxtaposition is extremely rare, given the fact that Europe’s increased involvement with the global economy was inculcating anti-African racism.
Notice that the two women wear small bits of fabric on their faces. These were known as “beauty patches,” and they were designed to treat perceived facial blemishes — often from smallpox scars or disease. The artist was critiquing the sin of pride here, a common moralizing topic of the day.
Recently, an administrative body in the UK declared that this painting is not allowed to leave the country, due to its unique depiction that underscores the dynamism of attitudes about race and how that interacted with gender and social class.
Smallpox Scars and Women’s Cosmetics
Sources: “Highly unusual: 17th-c portrait of black and white women as equals saved for UK” _The Guardian_, June 23, 2023, Dayla Alberge.
