Perfect Likeness : European and American Portrait Miniatures from the Cincinnati Art Museum

by Julie Aronson and Marjorie E. Wieseman

• ISBN13: 9780300115802
• ISBN10: 0300115806
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2006-04-10
• Publisher: Yale University Press

Summary

Diminutive marvels of artistry and fine craftsmanship, portrait miniatures reveal a wealth of information within their small frames. They can tell tales of cultural history and biography, of people and their passions, of evolving tastes in jewelry, fashion, hairstyles, and the decorative arts. Unlike many other genres, miniatures have a tradition in which amateurs and professionals have operated in parallel and women artists have flourished as professionals. This richly illustrated book presents approximately 180 portrait miniatures selected from the holdings of the Cincinnati Art Museum, the largest and most diverse collection of its kind in North America. The book stresses the continuity of stylistic tradition across Europe and America as well as the vitality of the portrait miniature format through more than four centuries. A detailed catalogue entry, as well as a concise artist biography, appears for each object. Essays examine various aspects of miniature painting, of the depiction of costume in miniatures, and of the allied art of hair work.

Author Biography

Julie Aronson is curator of American painting and sculpture, and Marjorie E. Wieseman is curator of European painting and sculpture, at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

Table of Contents

Charles William Wiebold Jr. (1942-2004)	p. 11
"Perfect likeness" : an introduction to the portrait miniature	p. 17
Between paint and print : Plumbago portraits in Britain and the Netherlands	p. 33
Clothing in portrait miniatures	p. 49
The art of ornamental hairwork	p. 63
Catalogue	p. 77
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