The Iconography of Anorexia Nervosa in the Long Nineteenth Century

In 2010 the French model and actress Isabelle Caro died from complications arising as a result of her fifteen-year struggle with anorexia nervosa. Three years prior to her death, as a statement against the fashion industry’s promotion of excessive thinness, Caro’s naked image was displayed on billboards in Italy to coincide with Milan Fashion Week, carrying the message ‘No Anorexia’. Caro claimed that she weighed around 27 kg (59lb) at the time. ¹ Previously, in 2006–7 three South American models in their early twenties had starved themselves to death: the Brazilian Ana Carolina Reston and sisters Eliana and Luisel Ramos from Uruguay, resulting in widespread criticism of the use of ‘size 0’ models and placing the issue of the visibility of anorexia firmly on the public agenda.