Portrait of a Nobleman
1675/1700
Medium
Watercolor heightened with gum arabic on paper
Dimensions
7.5 × 5.9 cm (2 15/16 × 2 5/16 in.); Framed: 9.5 × 6.4 cm (3 3/4 × 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
miniature painting
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
7303
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Portrait miniatures like this one were popular as gifts and keepsakes in 17th-century England. They were mounted under glass in fine metal frames or lockets to be worn close to the body or held in the hand as visual vessels of memory. The dress and hairstyle of this subject were fashionable over 30 to 40 years before the work was painted, indicating that it may be a posthumous copy of an earlier portrait of a beloved family member or an admired person.