Mrs. Eastmont in Black Dress with Miniature Brooch

The miniaturist Edwin Dalton Smith usually aimed for an authentic representation of his sitters. By using unusually many different colours on a small surface he skilfully reproduced the play of light and shade. The fine grading of the colours in the background can be seen with the naked eye. Nevertheless he slightly embellished the sensitively painted features of the lady shown in this miniature. Smith created a charming portrait of an amicable, if slightly melancholy, elderly lady in her everyday environment. At the same time, the miniature provides an interesting view of a woman’s life in the 19th century. The furnishings include a hand spinning wheel and a window of coloured glass, and were fully in keeping with the taste of bourgeois clients who preferred paintings showing people in their everyday environments to portraits designed to impress.

D. O.