The fine art of painting in miniature
Painting in miniature has become increasingly popular in the past 40 years, with the modern miniature being a world away from the original portrait miniature dating back over 400 years in England, to Henry VIII. Its origins lie in the art of limning, the painting of illuminated manuscripts on vellum, which reached great heights in the Middle Ages, but had sunk to a low point by the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII.
It was not until the mid-16th century that the first English miniaturist, Nicholas Hilliard, rose to prominence. By the 1700s ivory had largely replaced vellum, needing the technique of stippling, using tiny brushstrokes or dots to create layer upon layer of paint.
Two things generally define a modern miniature: size and the quality of brushwork. In
