Miniature portraits in Victorian period
The art work of painting miniatures has its origins with the illuminators of chivalric times, whose tiny depictions of scenes coming from the Bible were incorporated in to manuscripts. This artistic creation type developed and enhanced in 16th and 17th century in European countries while a need increased for small mementos of wives and children or dead family members that may be carried when travelling a lot as we take a photogaph of our partner or family members in our purses now. Portrait miniatures played an important role in the individual relations of the upper middle-class and the aristocracy of the moment; they were expressions of affection or love. In that respect they were comparable to grieving brooches containing plaited locks of the hair of the “dearly departed” that also became common in Victorian times.
Previous to the 18th century, portrait miniatures were painted in an assortment of media: oil, watercolour or from time to time enamel – but water-colour nonetheless predominated. They were being also painted diversely on vellum, chicken-skin or card board, and also on copper. During the eighteenth century, nonetheless, watercolor on ivory started to be the common medium, and this carried on until the miniature was gradually substituted by daguerreotypes and photography about the end of the nineteenth century. The zenith of the popularity of miniature portraits, equally in European countries and North America has been in mid-Victorian periods.
Miniatures have beenusually small and oval-shaped or spherical. Some were as tiny as 40 mm by 30 mm. They were generally enclosed in a locket or a covered “portrait box”. In fact, the housing for the portraits was at times ornamented with components of destruction or romanticism such as carved initials or flowers or braided locks of hair. When utilized for mourning, suitable symbolism has been from time to time integrated on the reverse of the locket or frame, like mourners at a tomb. Since the type moved into Victorian periods many miniatures grew bigger (up to 150 mm by 200mm) and were painted in square or rectangular form, to be displayed on walls or in cabinets. The innovational use of ivory as a “material” was launched by the Italian artist Rosalba Carriera in about 1700 as it supplied a luminous surface for translucent tones like water-color. The ivory was cut from the elephant’s tusk in thin sheets lengthways, sometimes so thin as to be almost transparent. Ivory is, however, hard to paint on with water-colour, staying greasy and non-absorbent. Miniaturists therefore roughened the surface with fine sandpaper or powdered pumice stone. They also bleached it in natural light to make it more whitened. One more technique was to degrease it with white vinegar and ail, or by pressing it with a warm iron between sheets of paper. Several painters employed a brush with a single hair, and added in gum arabic to the fresh paint to make it stickier. Generally-speaking Victorian miniature portraits encompassed a lighter palette of colour, monochromic backgrounds and brushwork that exploited the semitransparency of the ivory on which it was painted.
From Jaegy-Theoleyre : portrait miniature collector
Processing your request, Please wait....
