Portrait, formerly thought to be a self-portrait by Samuel Cooper
Miniature
mid 17th century (drawn)
mid 17th century (drawn)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This portrait is predominantly in chalk. Strictly, chalks are natural soft stones or earths of limited colours: white, black and reds. ‘Pastel’ is a coloured crayon that is hand-made by mixing pure powdered pigments with just enough gum or resin to bind them into sticks. ‘Crayon’ was the term used to describe the use of chalks and pastels in the late 17th century. 'Crayon' is a generic term for any manufactured drawing material in stick form.
In the late 17th century pastels were increasingly used to enhance the limited colour range of chalk. Pastel is effectively a method of painting in dry colours. Unlike other methods of painting, no medium or vehicle such as oil or water is used to apply the pigment to the paper. In all other forms of painting the colour as applied is different from the colour when dry. But with pastel the artist knows at any point in the process what effect he is achieving. Pastels probably came to be thought of as paintings rather than drawings, because the colours are applied in masses rather than in lines and are blended. The image is built up using a series of tones added layer by layer with the brightest colours and highlights added last.
When pastel painting developed in the 17th century it was seen as both a sister art and a rival to miniature. The famous miniaturist Samuel Cooper (1609–72) supposedly worked in pastel, and a leading pastellist, Edmund Ashfield (active 1669 to about 1690), probably painted miniatures. This portrait was long believed to be evidence of Cooper's use of pastel. But it is no longer thought either to depict him or to be by him.
In the late 17th century pastels were increasingly used to enhance the limited colour range of chalk. Pastel is effectively a method of painting in dry colours. Unlike other methods of painting, no medium or vehicle such as oil or water is used to apply the pigment to the paper. In all other forms of painting the colour as applied is different from the colour when dry. But with pastel the artist knows at any point in the process what effect he is achieving. Pastels probably came to be thought of as paintings rather than drawings, because the colours are applied in masses rather than in lines and are blended. The image is built up using a series of tones added layer by layer with the brightest colours and highlights added last.
When pastel painting developed in the 17th century it was seen as both a sister art and a rival to miniature. The famous miniaturist Samuel Cooper (1609–72) supposedly worked in pastel, and a leading pastellist, Edmund Ashfield (active 1669 to about 1690), probably painted miniatures. This portrait was long believed to be evidence of Cooper's use of pastel. But it is no longer thought either to depict him or to be by him.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Portrait, formerly thought to be a self-portrait by Samuel Cooper (popular title) |
Materials and techniques | Pastel |
Brief description | Pastel portrait formerly thought to be a Self-Portrait by Samuel Cooper (1609-1672). Possibly by 'Jackson'.; pastel; Cooper, Samuel or Jackson, said to be by |
Physical description | Portrait miniature |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce |
Summary | This portrait is predominantly in chalk. Strictly, chalks are natural soft stones or earths of limited colours: white, black and reds. ‘Pastel’ is a coloured crayon that is hand-made by mixing pure powdered pigments with just enough gum or resin to bind them into sticks. ‘Crayon’ was the term used to describe the use of chalks and pastels in the late 17th century. 'Crayon' is a generic term for any manufactured drawing material in stick form. In the late 17th century pastels were increasingly used to enhance the limited colour range of chalk. Pastel is effectively a method of painting in dry colours. Unlike other methods of painting, no medium or vehicle such as oil or water is used to apply the pigment to the paper. In all other forms of painting the colour as applied is different from the colour when dry. But with pastel the artist knows at any point in the process what effect he is achieving. Pastels probably came to be thought of as paintings rather than drawings, because the colours are applied in masses rather than in lines and are blended. The image is built up using a series of tones added layer by layer with the brightest colours and highlights added last. When pastel painting developed in the 17th century it was seen as both a sister art and a rival to miniature. The famous miniaturist Samuel Cooper (1609–72) supposedly worked in pastel, and a leading pastellist, Edmund Ashfield (active 1669 to about 1690), probably painted miniatures. This portrait was long believed to be evidence of Cooper's use of pastel. But it is no longer thought either to depict him or to be by him. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | DYCE.91 |
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Record created | July 11, 2003 |
Record URL |
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