The cosmetics entrepreneur Helena Rubinstein once observed, “There are no ugly women, only lazy ones.” The kind of beauty she had in mind is an ambivalent gift. On the one hand, it is not confined to ...

Why is Christian Science in our name? Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we’ve always been transparent about that. The church publishes the ...

In “How to Be a Renaissance Woman,” the historian Jill Burke explores the aesthetic expectations of an era — and just how they were achieved. (Recipes included.) By Marisa Meltzer Marisa Meltzer is ...

An exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, examines how women faced barriers to equality but often overcame them to contribute to the culture of the era. By Tanya Mohn This article is part of ...

Portrait of a Woman, painted by Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Battista Moroni, is joining the Frick’s permanent collection. Fine Art Images / Heritage Images / Getty Images The Frick Collection ...

Imagine for a moment a world without mirrors or scales, without social media or advertising. Would any worries about a woman’s appearance fall away? In “How to Be a Renaissance Woman,” Jill Burke ...

"How to Be a Renaissance Woman" is not really a how-to book (but you guessed!). No, Jill Burke's sprightly cultural history, subtitled "The Untold History of Beauty & Female Creativity," is a window ...