was largely driven by its associations with high status and wealth of the individual. this was because labour workers who performed outdoor work under direct sunlight often had tanned skin, whereas individuals in higher positions within society had the luxury of staying indoors and did not engage in employment. elizabeth i of england was only ever depicted with fair white skin, as a result of venetian ceruse, to emphasise her nobility and high status. many portraits during the elizabethan era also depicted servants with a dark complexion in the background, to contrast the "lightness" of the main subject with a fairer complexion. a portrait of maria coventry representing 16th-century beauty ideals of a clear, fair complexion with rouged cheeks and lips. the procession of elizabeth i of england. she has been portrayed with a lightness about her and dons a very fair complexion, indicative of her nobility. notes "after 1558, elizabeth i of england popularized the use of two toxins in face creams—arsenic and venetian ceruse, a lead carbonate base dissolved in vinegar."