Masterpieces And Beauties: A Museum Tour Focused On Beauty

Here, we will take a close look at the images of goddesses and courtesans, the heroines of myths and nameless beauties, to try to understand whether physical attractiveness is a matter of taste or whether there are universal biological factors. Maybe it’s all about cultural conventionalities and fashion?

We will compare the use of the golden ratio principle in the canvases of the Old Masters and in plastic surgery nowadays, and we will also discuss the rationale of the prohibition of the use of cosmetic products reflected in Baroque art.

At the beginning of the tour, we will complete short tests that allow researchers to determine the evolutionary and cultural background of our preferences when it comes to ‘real beauty’. We are not likely to find a universal answer, but you’ll find out a lot of new things about art, history, and, possibly, yourself from the dialogue of the paintings and the scientific data.

We will see all of the collections of one of the most influential museums in the world and take a close look at a few works by the geniuses of Western pictorial art, such as Titian, Rubens, and Giovanni Bellini; we will also pay attention to the cultural codes of beauty depicted on ancient Egyptian sarcophagi and in Greek sculptures.