The book by Georges Vigarello, a professor at the University of Paris V and the author of many works on the representation and cultural history of the body, traces the changing concept of bodily beauty in Europe - from the Renaissance to the present day. Which body was considered beautiful and which was ugly? What body care products were valued in different eras? How have pop culture and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle influenced the idea of beauty? How strong is the ideal, in pursuit of which destinies are sometimes broken? Using material from fine art, literature, medical and aesthetic treatises, the press, cinema and advertising, Georges Vigarello builds a fascinating excursion to answer these questions.