Spanish miniature from the Elizabethan period, mid-19th century.
"Portrait of a lady.
Gouache on vellum.
Signed "Vallejo".
Bronze frame.
Measurements: 5,7 x 4,6 cm 6,5 x 5,5 cm (frame).
A lady of serious countenance poses deliberately for the artist. She wears a black dress with lace and gathers her hair in an elegant up-do. The necklace of pearls and coral that decorates her neck and the brilliant earrings she wears indicate the high social class of the sitter.
Since the Renaissance, miniature portraits were intended for private contemplation. Considered as jewellery, in the 17th century they became pieces of personal adornment or a gift, as they were mounted as jewellery. They were executed in a wide variety of techniques, such as oil on copper, pewter or ivory, gouaches on parchment or card and, from the 18th century, watercolour on ivory. This delicate art was gradually lost from the second half of the 19th century onwards, in parallel with the development of photography. The most common type of work in the 19th century was historicist representations, often set in the preceding century.