I forget what exactly prompted me to start painting miniature portraits; I think it may have been having access to my wife’s illumination supplies. At any rate, I’ve dabbled with these for several years and find them enjoyable. I haven’t done any recently, for reasons that I will go into more at the bottom of the page.
Boru Aelwyn
Isolde Die Graue
Edila Emmadoghter (now Adela Scrijver van Brugge)
Rhiannon Cathoir-mor (now Porcia Secunda)
Delia (aka Snarr)
Hywel ap Ieuan
Robert Bedingfield
Isobel Bedingfield
Willemyne van Nymegen's Cat
Margaret Northwode
Sigurd Grunewald
Anfelisa, called Meg
Jody & Adele
These examples are presented in roughly chronological order, and there is some evolution that happens along the way. The last of these is by far the most accurate in terms of composition and presentation. The earliest one were modeled on larger portraits that would often have the subject’s name and/or arms included. However, looking at period examples of miniature portraits, there is rarely any inscription, and then usually the subjects age at the time it was painted. I suspect that, since miniature portraits were usually commissioned by – or as gifts for – close friends or relatives, such identification would be unnecessary. Also, I have yet to find a contemporary wearable setting (as opposed to one that would be held in the hand or kept in a cabinet) that is not in the form of a locket. Uncovered miniature portraits became popular in later centuries, but I have not seen a definitive example of one in the 16th century. The settings that have survived have largely done so because they are works of art in their own right (the Heneage Jewel, the Gresley Jewel, the Drake Jewel, etc.), and are quite elaborate. Even the simpler ones (e.g. Holbein’s portrait of Jane Small) are not easily mimicked by commercially available lockets. This leaves me with the option of either a relatively plain modern locket or a custom made elaborate locket, neither of which thrills me enough to get back into it at the moment.
