Ask a Redhead: Redheads in Art History

Every week, we put out a call for your redhead questions. This gives you a chance to get advice or input from our team of redheads. From beauty and fashion to lifestyle, redheads are in a unique boat, and we want to help make this community a place where you can turn for all your redhead needs.

This week, we’re taking a step back in time and answering the question, “Why are there so many redheads in old European paintings?” Redheads began to gain popularity in art during the Renaissance period (1400s to mid-1600s) and continued to be a common theme throughout the 1800s and 1900s. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of English painters, poets, and art critics founded in 1848, was known for using redheads in their work, but why?

It’s often been said that redheads are “natural muses,” so artists usually incorporate them into their work. When an artist is painting a portrait of a real person, they stick to that person’s characteristics, but when painting from their mind, they have the freedom of creativity to guide them. This can often create “exotic” or “rare” things. Since red hair is such a rarity, it makes sense that it would be a creative choice for an author.

Aside from the creativity of it, red hair is often used as a symbol. Red is a color of power and is frequently associated with a fiery temper. Giving a person, especially a woman, red hair in a painting could change how she was viewed and the meaning of the piece. This theme is explored in depth in a 2019 Artsy.net article by redhead Sarah Dotson. Dotson mentions how painter Sando Botticelli gave his portrait of Venus, goddess of sex, beauty, and love, “long strawberry locks.” Dotson also quotes Jacky Colliss Harvey, the author of Red: A History of the Redhead, who stated, “This business of being attracted to the color red is very hardwired into us…and that’s even before all of the associations with fire, and warmth, and sun, and blood.”

Red hair can also make art stand out more. Its striking color contrasts with those around it and brings life to the work. This is a huge reason that redheads are commonly featured in TV commercials: Their unique look stands out and makes the commercial more memorable.