Makeup in Marie Antoinette

[smhoffmann]

I noticed there are a few characters in the movie Marie Antoinette who wear very exaggerated white makeup and red cheeks, one elderly lady in particular, and I think the rest were older as well. I was wondering what the explanation is for this, when most of the characters are wearing very little makeup. Is it historically accurate?

Comments

[childings]

From what I could tell the movie was one of the most historically accurate I've seen, if you don't count the soundtrack. Coppola stuck pretty close to Frasier's book, which was heavily researched.

[childings]

Aside from something like fashion or the general look of the movie, what was something that stood out as a glaring historical inaccuracy? Keeping in mind that it glossed over a large period of time in about an hour and a half.

[x_in_tenebris_x]

I thought the way MA is represented in the movie is completely different from the way Fraser depicts her, trying to 'justify' her because of her poor upbringing, while in the movie she's the stereotypical featherbrained stupid queen from the opposition pamphlets :/

[stephsicola]

For an example of highly exaggerated French makeup, watch the HBO John Adams miniseries. It's the same there, but it would of course been a few years before--so perhaps someone's remarks about it being on the way out are true. And that series is heavily researched and very accurate.

[cigarettes214]

I'm pretty sure she had the younger women not wearing the really heavy make up as a visual for Marie Antoinette's throwing off the traditional customs of the french court at the time (ie, heavy makeup)

[hellbound_heart]

Marie Antoinette was a fan of wearing rouge: when Versailles, its inmates and their daily routines were open to the French public, observing the Queen applying her rouge was one of the more popular pastimes for visitors. Although Antoinette initially railed against the incredibly restrictive corsetry and fashions, strict injunctions from her mother soon diminished her rebelliousness, and of course, as Queen and therefore THE biggest trendsetter at court, the improbably large and ornate hairstyles of the era were often copied from Antoinette.

Incidentally, I recommend Carolly Ericksen's excellent biography of MA - a fantastic and engaging book :)