- Image reference 2006AP1935
- Enlarge image
Portrait miniature of Alice Hilliard
- Object:
Miniature
- Place of origin:
France (probably, painted)
- Date:
1578 (painted)
- Artist/Maker:
Hilliard, Nicholas (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
Watercolour on vellum stuck to card; later stuck to a larger piece of circular card upon which the later outer band of inscription and decoration has been painted
- Credit Line:
Acquired through The Art Fund
- Museum number:
P.2-1942
- Gallery location:
Portrait Miniatures, room 90a, case 2
Alice Hilliard was Hilliard's first wife and the daughter of his former master, the Queen's Goldsmith, Robert Brandon. Their son Laurence also became a miniature painter, and it was probably Laurence who added the untypical encircling inscription and coats of arms as a memorial to his parents. This miniature was painted during the Hilliards' three-year stay in France, 1576-1578. Hilliard was probably influenced there by the famous chalk drawings of François Clouet, noted for their seductive ability to catch fleeting expression. On his return to England, Hilliard's portraiture, even of men, was to be characterised by a similarly sensitive quality, of which this work is typical.
