Self portrait
Louisa Catherine Strobel, ca. 1830
About this artwork
In the early 19th century, women like Louisa Catherine Strobel often turned to miniature portraiture as a socially acceptable avenue for artistic expression. This delicate *Self-Portrait*, created around 1830, exemplifies the genre: a tiny watercolor on ivory measuring just 2 21/32 x 2 3/16 inches (6.7 x 5.6 cm). Such miniatures were prized personal treasures, often worn as jewelry or kept in lockets, capturing the sitter's likeness with intimate precision. Strobel's choice of watercolor on ivory—a smooth, luminous surface—allowed for subtle layering of translucent colors, evoking the era's fascination with refined, jewel-like artworks. As a self-portrait by a female artist, this piece holds cultural significance in highlighting women's agency in visual self-representation during a time when professional opportunities were limited. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, it reflects the burgeoning American identity in fine arts, blending European miniature traditions with a distinctly personal American sensibility. Donated through the 1917 bequest of Ella Church Strobell—possibly a family connection—it invites us to ponder Strobel's gaze and story preserved in such a diminutive yet powerful form.