J) Beautiful Person/Models From Two Different Eras

SUBJECT A
Name : Virginia Oldoni, Countess of
Castiglione
Artist : Pierre-Louise Pierson
Year : 1863/66
Title : Game of Madness

SUBJECT B
Name : Liya Kebede
Artist : Steven Meisel
Year : 2009
Title : Vogue US September

Subject A is Virginia Elisabetta Luisa Carlotta Antonietta Teresa Maria Oldoni, also
known as Virginia Oldoini, The Countess of Castiglione. She married Francesco
Verasis, Count of Castiglione, at the age of 17. While still married, she became a
mistress of Napoleon III which she gives her the opportunity to enter the social circle
of European royalty.
In 1856, she teamed up with Mayer and Pierson, photographers favoured by the
imperial court. Over the next four decades, she and Pierre-Louise Pierson developed
over 700 photographs in which she re-created the signature moments of her life for
the camera. Most of the photographs captured her glorious moment of her life and
her theatrical costumes, such as her Queen of Hearts costume. There are photos in
which she showed off her bare legs and feet but with her head cropped out of the
photo.
In 1890, she collaborate with Pierson again for a brief amount of time. In those
photographs, she was seen to be mentally unstable. She wished to set up an exhibit
of her photographs at the Exposition Universelle (1900) but unfortunately she died
before she could exhibit her photographs. She died on November 28 th 1899 at the
age of sixty-two and was buried at the Pre Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. She was said
to be the first fashion model of the world.
Subject B is Liya Kebede, an Ethiopian-born model, maternal health advocate,
clothing designer, and actress. She was born and raised in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia.
She was scouted by a film director and was introduced to a French modelling
management. She moved to France upon completing her studies to pursue her
modelling career. She was then relocated to New York. She had claimed that catwalk

in New York runway is different than runway in Ethiopia because in Ethiopia, she had
to provide her own shoes.
Liya received her big break when was asked to sign an exclusive contract by Tom
Ford for his Gucci Fall/Winter 2000 fashion show. On 2002, she was featured in
Vogue Paris magazine cover in which the whole magazine was dedicated to her. After
that, she was seen to be in many other magazines such as Spanish, Italian, Japanese,
French and American Vogue, V, Flair, i-D and Time's Style & Design. She has been
featured in numerous campaign such as Revlon, Dolce & Gabbana, Escada, Louis
Vuitton, Victorias Secret and more.
In 2003, Kebede was named the newest face of Este Lauder cosmetics, the only
Ethiopian to serve as their representative. Her contract was said to be worth over 3
million which put her in the number 1 ranking on models.com. In July 2007, she
earned over 2.5 million in 12 months which landed her the eleventh spot on World's
15 Top-Earning Supermodels by Forbes. Now at the age of 37, Liya Kebede was said
to be one of the most successful coloured supermodel with her numerous
campaign, especially since she became one of Victorias Secret favourite angel.
Besides modelling, Kebede has served as the WHO's Ambassador for Maternal,
Newborn and Child Health since 2005.

Analysis and Comparison

Subject B is more attractive in term of beauty. This is because Subject A shows off a
typical look of a beautiful person/model in the industry. Fashion industry in the old
days prefers white woman over coloured woman. Blonde coloured hair over black
coloured hair. Blue or green eyes instead of brown coloured. This kind of stereotype
makes other woman without the specification feels insecure and unsure of their own
beauty. Nowadays, fashion models are not only limited to the old look. Subject B is
the example of beauty without boundary. Subject B is a coloured woman, with dark
eyes and appeared in one of the worlds highest reputation magazine to inspire other
woman.
The beauty of both subject is defined by the exaggerate clothing. During the time of
Subject A, level and reputation of an individual is defined by their look and clothes.
Subject A shows off her high reputation in class of society by portraying her type of
clothes in the photograph. Subject B on the other hand, despite her exaggerate
clothing doesnt give the idea of expensive, but instead gives the idea of elegance
and sophistication.
Photograph of Subject A was taken for personal use while photograph of Subject B
was taken for advertising purposes and shown to the world.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Oldoini
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liya_Kebede
http://imgbuddy.com/steven-meisel-american-vogue.asp
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/13/arts/photography-review-a-goddess-of-self-lovewho-did-not-sit-quietly.html