Portrait miniature of unknown man

Description:	Can you imagine sitting perfectly still for hours at a time, just so someone could paint your picture? Each painting was carefully created using small brushes and watercolor to capture detail and personality. Painted on small ivory disks, the artist would usually try to hold the disk in his/her hand using paper or newsprint to avoid directly touching the delicate ivory. Once the portraits were finished, they were framed and signed. These works are examples of the time and care artists took to create realistic and meaningful portraits of their clients, who in turn used these Miniatures to commemorate special events in their lives. Miniature painting came into practice during the16th century in Europe. Originally called liminings or painting in little, these portraits were sometimes made small enough to wear as jewelry. Upper class and middle-class families commissioned miniature portraits for occasions such as marriage, anniversaries, births, and deaths. They were painted with great care to show a real likeness of the person being painted. Many clients would sit still for hours at a time, just so the artist could correctly capture their image.
Source:	http://www.digitalindy.org/cdm/ref/collection/tcm/id/1809
Collection:	The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Rights:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/;
Copyright:	Creative Commons (CC By-SA 3.0);
Subjects:	Portraits Miniature painters Miniature painting

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