Stuffed, squeezed, starved
For as long as we have existed, there have been supposedly ideal bodies. Which proportions were flattering in the Middle Ages? What counts as beautiful today? By Lion Knirsch
Depictions of the human body are not an invention of the modern era – not even of antiquity. As long as about 30,000 years ago, well before social media, body images seem to have fascinated people. According to the Natural History Museum in Vienna, the Venus of Willendorf, a female figurine from the Palaeolithic, shows that lavish curves and hanging breasts evidently had a certain significance. Which exactly? A mystery to this day!
Things become clearer a few thousand years later. According to Liane Vorwerk-Gundermann of Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg, a ‘boyish’ look with apple-sized breasts and a small round belly was considered beautiful among women in the Middle Ages. Among men, a narrow waist and narrow shoulders were highly desirable – often the belly was bound in as well.
When society turned back to antiquity in the Renaissance, body ideals developed that had already been portrayed in ancient Greece, Marlies Stücklschweiger explains in an academic study. Men were to be shaped like Greek gods – athletic and bursting with strength. Michelangelo’s David is just one of many depictions of this ideal. The medieval obsession with slimness among women eased somewhat from around 1500 AD. The idea of a modest bosom, however, remained.
‘I am the state!’ In the 17th century, the Sun King Louis XIV set standards not only in politics but also in matters of beauty. In the Baroque era, people turned towards indulgence. Ample proportions and size were considered splendid. To help nature along, people resorted to padding in breeches and the like, as well as tall curly wigs. Women were also expected to emphasise their curves with a corset – so says Daniela Mauch, who examined the subject in her paper ‘Ideals of beauty through the ages – phenomenological and textile-didactic aspects’.
The body project
With her own art project @koerpersachen on Instagram, the artist Maria Karasjow from Papenburg now wants to show a new perspective: body neutrality. ‘I want to show people as they really are – unedited, with all their little details and unique features.’ What began in 2019 as a simple drawing exercise has become a labour of love for the 23-year-old. ‘It’s important to me to create acceptance with my pictures – acceptance that nobody has to be ashamed of not fitting a socially prescribed ideal of beauty. Body neutrality means accepting your own body and other people’s as they are. It isn’t about loving every body shape; it’s about accepting them.’
In doing so, we should learn from the past, Karasjow says. ‘There simply is no one ideal body, which is why this image has changed so often over time. It’s important to feel comfortable in your own body and not to let supposed ideals put you under pressure.’