I’m Professor of Renaissance Visual and Material Culture at the University of Edinburgh and am a historian, writer and (occasional) curator. I’ve published books and articles about art patronage, the nude and various other topics relating to fifteenth and sixteenth-century Italy. My current obsession (or research as it’s also known) considers cosmetics and beauty cultures in Renaissance Europe, particularly Italy. It’s my conviction that pretty much every topic under the sun can be discussed via the lens of makeup history.
In 2022-23 I’m leading the Royal Society funded ‘Renaissance Goo’ project, working with soft matter scientist Wilson Poon to reconstruct sixteenth-century skincare recipes. My forthcoming book investigates female responses to the changing beauty culture of the Italian Renaissance. It considers how beautification could give women agency in an astonishingly misogynistic world, and includes updated recipes for Renaissance cosmetics for readers to try. How to Be A Renaissance Woman comes out with Wellcome Collection Books in October 2023.