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

Aronson, Julie; Wieseman, Marjorie E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300115806 ISBN 13: 9780300115802

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2006

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

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.

From Booklist:

Prior to the advent of photography, painters created portrait miniatures. The most intimate form of portraiture, they were usually commissioned as gifts and carried as tokens of love and remembrance. Perfect Likeness showcases the largest collection of miniatures in the U.S.; the Cincinnati Art Museum's nearly 2,000 British, European, and American portable portraits span three centuries. Painters of miniatures not only captured a likeness but they also infused their mini portraits with personality and historically significant detail. Crisp close-up reproductions are paired with profiles of the artists, explanations of their painstaking techniques, and illuminating reflections on the emotional appeal of these little masterpieces.

Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0300115806
• ISBN 13: 9780300115802
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 344