Portrait of an unknown man in profile
Portrait Miniature
1790s (painted)
1790s (painted)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
In the late 18th century a new sister art and rival to miniature portraits appeared. Since about 1700 miniaturists had worked on ivory, and before that on vellum (animal skin). Up to the late 18th century, watercolour was used mainly by topographic artists, who applied it on paper to tint their drawings. But as watercolour painting developed as an art in its own right, miniaturists saw that working on paper was easier, and so quicker and cheaper. They could thus attract new patrons. Many now widened their repertoire and developed types of watercolour portraits on paper or card. They produced elegant graphite drawings, either tinted lightly with a watercolour wash or with the sitter's head painted minutely in watercolour. One problem with paper is that it can quickly discolour and degrade, unlike the more expensive vellum or ivory. This can be seen in the slightly brown colouring of the face in this portrait.
This portrait also borrows from another fashionable rival to miniature painting, the profile. Silhouettes, or ‘profiles’ as they were known then, became popular in the 1770s, when the archaeological discoveries of Roman sites at Herculaneum and Pompeii encouraged a taste for Neo-classicism. ‘Profiles’ became even more fashionable after about 1775, when Johann Kaspar Lavater published his hugely popular Essays on Physiognomy. He claimed that one could detect a person’s character by concentrating on his or her main features. These would reveal both virtues and vices. Lavater illustrated the book with numerous simple black profiles.
This portrait also borrows from another fashionable rival to miniature painting, the profile. Silhouettes, or ‘profiles’ as they were known then, became popular in the 1770s, when the archaeological discoveries of Roman sites at Herculaneum and Pompeii encouraged a taste for Neo-classicism. ‘Profiles’ became even more fashionable after about 1775, when Johann Kaspar Lavater published his hugely popular Essays on Physiognomy. He claimed that one could detect a person’s character by concentrating on his or her main features. These would reveal both virtues and vices. Lavater illustrated the book with numerous simple black profiles.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Portrait of an unknown man in profile (popular title) |
Materials and techniques | Watercolour on paper |
Brief description | Portrait miniature, watercolour on paper, of an unknown man in profile, by George Engleheart. Great Britain, ca. 1790s. |
Physical description | Portrait miniature, watercolour on paper, of an unknown man in profile |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | Bequeathed by Miss Grace Valentine Stephenson as part of the R. H. Stephenson Bequest |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | In the late 18th century a new sister art and rival to miniature portraits appeared. Since about 1700 miniaturists had worked on ivory, and before that on vellum (animal skin). Up to the late 18th century, watercolour was used mainly by topographic artists, who applied it on paper to tint their drawings. But as watercolour painting developed as an art in its own right, miniaturists saw that working on paper was easier, and so quicker and cheaper. They could thus attract new patrons. Many now widened their repertoire and developed types of watercolour portraits on paper or card. They produced elegant graphite drawings, either tinted lightly with a watercolour wash or with the sitter's head painted minutely in watercolour. One problem with paper is that it can quickly discolour and degrade, unlike the more expensive vellum or ivory. This can be seen in the slightly brown colouring of the face in this portrait. This portrait also borrows from another fashionable rival to miniature painting, the profile. Silhouettes, or ‘profiles’ as they were known then, became popular in the 1770s, when the archaeological discoveries of Roman sites at Herculaneum and Pompeii encouraged a taste for Neo-classicism. ‘Profiles’ became even more fashionable after about 1775, when Johann Kaspar Lavater published his hugely popular Essays on Physiognomy. He claimed that one could detect a person’s character by concentrating on his or her main features. These would reveal both virtues and vices. Lavater illustrated the book with numerous simple black profiles. |
Bibliographic reference | Summary Catalogue of Miniatures in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Emmett Microform, 1981 |
Collection | |
Accession number | P.47-1929 |
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Record created | July 8, 2003 |
Record URL |
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