Zimmermann A (2026)
Publication Type: Book chapter / Article in edited volumes
Publication year: 2026
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Edited Volumes: Beauty: The Body as Artefact Historical Sources from Cicero to Goya
ISBN: 9781040511527
Alexander Cozens’ Principles of beauty (1778) was written at a time when the belief in universal and timeless aesthetic principles was beginning to wane. Addressed to artists, this treatise seeks to demonstrate beauty visually rather than explain it verbally. This chapter contextualizes Cozens’ work, tracing its theoretical roots and subsequent reception. Central to his approach are the numerous plates-his so-called objects of sight-which transform abstract principles into practical tools for creating ideal faces and hairstyles. Combining scientific accuracy with artistic ambition, Cozens presents a modular system of facial features that claims empirical precision, yet inevitably reveals the limitations of normativity. Anything that falls outside his tables of noses, mouths and eyes is deemed unattractive. The chapter also explores how this visual taxonomy intersects with contemporary gender ideologies. Although Cozens asserts that his principles apply equally to both sexes, his system nonetheless reaffirms the traditional association of beauty with the female body, even as it aspires to a universal science of form.
APA:
Zimmermann, A. (2026). ALEXANDER COZENS: The end of the canon of beauty (1778). In Romana Sammern, Julia Saviello (Eds.), Beauty: The Body as Artefact Historical Sources from Cicero to Goya. Taylor and Francis.
MLA:
Zimmermann, Anja. "ALEXANDER COZENS: The end of the canon of beauty (1778)." Beauty: The Body as Artefact Historical Sources from Cicero to Goya. Ed. Romana Sammern, Julia Saviello, Taylor and Francis, 2026.
BibTeX: Download