A much more stoic example of the skinhead phenomenon is evident in Pisanello’s Ginepro d’Este. Ginepro means “juniper” in Italian, and a sprig of juniper on this woman’s sleeve alludes to her first name. A member of the noble Este family of Ferrara, Ginepro’s hair is pulled off of her forehead with several ribbons to reveal her graceful profile. The depictions of flowers and butterflies demonstrate Pisanello’s affinity for nature and his support for the Gothic style popular at the time.

Top Right: Ginepro d'Este, by Pisanello, 1440 (2)

Bottom Right: Madonna del Fiore, by Leonardo da Vinci, late 15th century (3)

No discussion of the Renaissance (however brief) is complete without a discreet bow to Leonardo da Vinci. Most famous for the Mona Lisa, that enigmatic woman whose identity remains a mystery to this day, da Vinci’s nod to the hairless is evident in a lesser-known work, the Madonna del Fiore. Fiore is Italian for flower, which is exactly what the baby Christ holds in his chubby little hand. The Madonna smiles affectionately as she watches her son’s concentrated interest in the flower. Like the other examples presented here, the female-pattern baldness is in full force: the Madonna’s hair is pulled tightly off her forehead in a series of concentric braids that present the viewer with a broad pale expanse.

My how things change. If Jolique packed her bags today and headed for the Amalfi coast, she’d more likely encounter bronzed, oiled skin and thick voluminous manes of hair than the ghostly pallor and thinning hair seen here, but we'll save that for another edition...

October 15, 1999

Bibliography:

-Carrington, Fitzroy, ed., The Print-Collector's Quarterly, Vol. 4, No.3, Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, 1914.
-Corson, Richard, Fashions In Makeup, Peter Owen, London, 1972.
-Dimier, Louis, Histoire de la Peinture Française: Des Origines au Retour de Vouet, 1300 à 1627, Librairie Nationale d'Art et d'Histoire, Paris, 1925.
-Faure, Elie, History of Art: Renaissance Art, Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, 1923.
-Martinie, A. H,. Pisanello, Les Editions Rieder, Paris, 1930.
-Yalom, Marilyn, A History of the Breast, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1997.

Photo Credits:

(1) Dimier, Louis, Histoire de la Peinture Française: Des Origines au Retour de Vouet, 1300 à 1627, "Planche XXIII. #2. Vierge a l'Enfant. Musee d'Anvers," p. 39.

(2) Martinie, A. H,. Pisanello, "Ginepro d'Este," plate 13.

(3) Carrington, Fitzroy, ed., The Print-Collector's Quarterly, Vol. 4, No.3, "Da Vinci's Madonna del Fiore," p. 233.