Miniatures from the Time of Marie Antoinette

The fifth catalogue edited by “The Tansey Miniatures Foundation” presents portrait miniatures from the time of Marie Antoinette in coloured illustrations of original size, together with accompanying texts and references to the provenance and corresponding literature. It can be considered a standard work within the scientific field dealing with European miniature painting of the end of the ancien régime.

The volume is published to accompany the exhibition which shows miniature painting from the time of Marie Antoinette as an extremely fascinating art by its unique character and its high refinement. For the first time now numerous works of high quality of this epoch in outstanding colour illustrations and in their original size can be compared against each other.

The final years of the ancien régime were some of the most glorious in the art of miniature portraits, in terms both of their style and of the painting techniques used. The artists who created these portraits intended for personal use stand out due not only to their mastery of watercolour painting on ivory but also to their inventiveness in presenting inclination and love.

The volume Miniatures from the Time of Marie Antoinette fills a gap in the literature. The authors, Bernd Pappe and Juliane Schmieglitz-Otten, well known specialists of European miniature painting, present all 168 works under various aspects. Introductory essays are written by leading experts. The brilliant photographs by Birgitt Schmedding show all works in original size and some in addition in magnified details.

Essays:
Bernd Pappe: Miniatures from the Time of Marie Antoinette in the Tansey Collection
Gerrit Walzcak: “It Is not the Miniature that Excels”: The Paris Miniaturists in the Time of Marie Antoinette
Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard: Miniature Painters at the Court of Louis XVI: The Royal Road and Detours to Fame
Bernd Pappe: “None of the Pettiness of the Miniature”: The Impact of the Art of Peter Adolf Hall in France
Bernardo Falconi: Ignazio Pio Vittoriano Campana (1744–1786), Peintre ordinaire du cabinet of Marie Antoinette: From the Turin of Charles Emmanuel III to the Paris of Louis XVI
Juliane Schmieglitz-Otten: Moments of Happiness: Insights into a Time of Cultural Transition

Picture descriptions: Bernd Pappe, Juliane Schmieglitz-Otten Technical information: Bernd Pappe Chief editors: Juliane Schmieglitz-Otten, Bernd Pappe Photography and digital image processing: Birgitt Schmedding