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Miniature
Prieur, Paul - Enlarge image
Miniature
- Place of origin:
Paris, France (possibly, made)
- Date:
1645-1650 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Prieur, Paul (probably, maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Enamel on gold, frame a silver-copper alloy
- Credit Line:
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum number:
LOAN:GILBERT.295-2008
- Gallery location:
Gold, Silver & Mosaics, room 71, case 6
The artist Paul Prieur probably learned enamel painting in Paris around 1640. He worked at the Danish court from 1655, where he was the first to produce portrait miniatures in enamel. Here he has applied the colours in small dots, a technique known as 'stippling'.
In the 17th century, new techniques of painting enamels allowed delicate portraits resembling tiny oil paintings to be created. These enamel miniatures were first fashionable in continental Europe, but were particularly in vogue in Britain from the 1720s to 1760s. Painted enamels were made by firing finely milled glass which had been coloured with metal oxides onto a metal base, usually gold or copper. The colours had to be applied and fired in several stages, according to the firing temperature required by each colour. Incredible precision was needed for a successful enamel portrait, since each firing carried risks of cracks and bubbles that might ruin the entire effort.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
