Bathing was actually quite common before even for common folk. The people who could afford the money to have paintings done of themselves were also pretty well fed without any unhealthy things found in today's food.
Painters also had a tendency to put themselves into the painting. You usually can't trust a painting to accurately show what that person looked like as it's usually a mix of both the person paying for the painting as well as the painter themself.
Both of those reasons are why you don't really see short-term blemishes in paintings.
It depends on how far back you go. Baths weren't really that common. In fact, vikings were considered very attractive because they were the only ones who would bathe once a week.
It did greatly depend on the region, but humans are very good at cleaning themselves usually. Societies who don't clean themselves tend to die pretty quickly.
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deleted
· 6 years ago
do you rly think people would draw pimpels etc..?no off course not. why they should do that?people remove such stuff in Photoshop etc..so why the people in the past should have draw it on purpose into a picture? that would be dumb.
Da Vinci might have.... but not in anything commissioned lol
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deleted
· 6 years ago
i mean..if someone gives me money for my work.. i don't gonna let him / her look bad in the picture.. who would do that :D.. specially in the past. imagine you f*ck up a picture of like a king or something.. good luck running :')
Photo shop is not new. It has been around for a long time. If a rich large woman wanted a painting done of herself she would have a fitter model be used for the body and for the face her real nose, eyes, and mouth was on the painting. But any bumps of the nose or warts or something of that nature was always removed.
Royalty especially had an expectation that the artist would leave out any blemishes. When Oliver Cromwell sat for a portrait by an artist who had previously painted royalty Cromwell asked that he paint his portrait "warts and all" as he was opposed to displays of vanity.
People shelling out the money to have their portraits painted (usually) wanted an idealized version of themselves, or at least what would be considered ideal for the time.
Painters also had a tendency to put themselves into the painting. You usually can't trust a painting to accurately show what that person looked like as it's usually a mix of both the person paying for the painting as well as the painter themself.
Both of those reasons are why you don't really see short-term blemishes in paintings.