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Not currently on display at the V&A

Miniature

1645-1650 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Enamel on gold, frame a silver-copper alloy
Brief description
Enamel miniature on gold, in a silver-copper alloy frame, Paris, 1645-50, by Paul Prieur.
Physical description
Oval portrait miniature of a gentleman with long brown hair and a slight moustache wearing a white lawn collar, a white shirt with a black slashed doublet. The miniature is enamel on gold and the frame is a silver copper alloy.
Dimensions
  • Height: 4.9cm
  • Width: 3.8cm
  • Depth: 0.84cm
Measured 29/01/24 IW
Gallery label
  • 3. Man in black doublet 1645–50 The painter of this miniature has applied colour in small dots in a technique known as ‘stippling’. Possibly Paris, France; probably Paul Prieur (about 1620–84) Enamel on gold in later silver-copper alloy frame Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.295-2008(16/11/2016)
  • Man in black doublet 1645–50 The painter has applied the colours in small dots, a technique known as ‘stippling’. Paul Prieur probably learned enamel painting in Paris. He introduced enamel portrait miniatures to the Danish court, where he worked from 1655. Possibly Paris, France; probably Paul Prieur (about 1620–about 1684) Enamel on gold in later silver-copper alloy frame Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.295-2008(2009)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Dr. Adolph List Collection, Magdeburg. Sale, Hans W. Lange, Berlin, lot 511, 28-30 March 1939. Galerie Dr. Hans Rudolph, Hamburg, Hotel Atlantic, lot 180, 28-29 September 1950. Günther Muthmann Collection, Wuppertal. Sale, Sotheby's Zurich, lot 35, 17/05/1979. Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1979.

Adolph List's Jewish parents converted to Protestantism, but in 1937, an anonymous letter denounced him and his wife Clara Helene as Jewish. He was removed from his own company and died in 1938. After Adolph's death, his widow Clara Helene was made to prove that she was not of Jewish heritage. As a result, she was not persecuted by the Nazis on racial grounds. There is no indication that she was forced to sell her husband's collection at auction in 1939, or that the auction proceeds were seized from her.

This object formed part of the V&A's special provenance display 'Concealed Histories: Uncovering the Story of Nazi Looting' (December 2019 - June 2021)
Subject depicted
Summary
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.
Bibliographic references
Other numbers
  • 1996.773.1 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
  • MIN 8 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • 1996.791.1 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
  • MIN 26 - Arthur Gilbert Number
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.295-2008

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Record createdJune 26, 2008
Record URL
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