Talk by Dr Barbara Lasic at the Wellcome Collection
17 March 2016
On 24 March 2016, Dr Lasic is giving a talk at the Wellcome Collection in London entitled Dangerous Liaisons.
Vilified and mocked, yet irresistibly enticing, cosmetic artifice in the eighteenth century was no longer the preserve of wealthy elites and was avidly consumed by very diverse urban social groups ranging from empoverished grisettes to well-to-do bourgeois matriarchs. This pursuit of beauty was, however, not without its own risks and some of the most sought-after products contained toxic ingredients like lead, mercury or arsenic.
This talk will offer an evocative and vivid exploration of the perilous and sometimes deadly art of make-up in the enlightenment.