Makeup, Makeup Class, makeup history

Theatrical Makeup History Resources

General Information:

Physiognomy:

Physiognomy is a Psudo-science that was “studied” by 19th and Early 20th century actors and makeup artists to improve their study of faces.  Unfortunately, the mid 19th & early 20th Century books on this fake “science” in these eras existed primarily to promote racist, sexist, and xenophobic views which trickled into the designs of stage makeup.  Racists worldwide continue to cite this nonsense to “prove” superiority to groups and individuals they hate.

Blackface and racism in the performing arts:

Theatre has a deeply rooted problem of racism, from minstrel shows, to the misleading theatrical depiction of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, to the disproportionate amount of primarily white Broadway shows.

In the early 19th century, Minstrel shows were an extremely common form of entertainment. They were performed by white actors in blackface, and were unfortunately the main kind of representation black characters had in theatre, solely being used to mock them and enforce racist stereotypes. Though Minstrel shows have largely been erased from theatre programs around the world, many people still fail to understand the extremely negative implications of blackface.

There was a point where all theatre actors, and nearly all characters were white. Because of this, greasepaint–a grease-based theatrical base makeup that was invented by Wagnerian Opera singer Ludwig Leichner in the 1860s and gained international popularity in the 1870s–came in primarily caucasian tints, and very few darker tints. The darker tints were often simply named after the race/ethnicity which they would be used to portray.

Historical makeup kits:

17th & 18th Century Theatrical Makeup

1820s Theatrical Makeup

1830s Theatrical Makeup

1850s Theatrical Makeup

1860s Theatrical Makeup

1870s Theatrical Makeup

1880s Theatrical Makeup

1890s Theatrical Makeup

1900s Theatrical Makeup

1910s Theatrical Makeup

1920s Theatrical Makeup

1930s Theatrical Makeup

1940s Theatrical Makeup

1950s Theatrical Makeup