Rococo Period

Rococo Miniatures

The rococo portrait miniature is an elegant likeness whose chief characteristics are grace and tenderness. Individual facial features are less important than the representation of a beautiful ideal, splendid clothing and a theatrical setting. Some portraits convey a hidden message for the recipient of the miniature. Some of the ladies are flirting – using fans, masks and veils to cleverly conceal and reveal their attributes. Here we find ladies surrounded by real or imagined luxury; there they flee into a make-believe world where they dress up as shepherdesses, musicians or goddesses.

Rococo – a period of miniature painting given little attention to date

Rococo miniature painting is quite a fascinating part of art history due to its unique style and high degree of refinement. Yet it is still little known. One reason for this is that since many works are unsigned, only a few artists active at this time are known to us. Another is that there are no books available containing general overviews. The rococo period cannot be defined with complete accuracy. It flourished between about 1710 and 1775, which almost corresponds to the lifetime of King Louis XV of France.

Elegance, grace and refinement

There could hardly be a greater contrast between rococo miniatures and those painted during the Revolutionary period. During the Revolution sober, naturalistic portraits of people were highly regarded, whereas rococo likenesses are first and foremost elegantly staged portrayals whose key aspects are grace and tenderness. Individual facial features are less important than the representation of a beautiful ideal, splendid clothing and a theatrical setting. On the one hand the composition has to obey the rules of balance, but on the other it must not bore the observer. The portraits therefore frequently show the sitters’ bodies, heads and gazes at an angle to create tension. Great attention is also paid to refined harmony in the coloration. A likeness is rarely merely a depiction of a person; details frequently indicate the class or accomplishments of the sitter. Portraits harbouring hidden messages for the recipients are especially intriguing. While the gentlemen shown in miniatures generally preferred to emphasise their military achievements, pictures of ladies focus on emotion and the art of seduction. The beauties do indeed often put their charms on show quite openly, but also like to create an aura of chaste detachment in order to enhance their attraction (cf. inv. no. 10456). The coquettes exploit their beauty with fans, masks and veils cleverly concealing and revealing their attributes. Here we find ladies surrounded by real or imagined luxury; there they flee into a make-believe world where they dress up as shepherdesses, musicians or goddesses (cf. inv. no. 10163). The painters had the job of adding billowing fabrics and garlands of flowers and to create idyllic park landscapes, so that in the pictures the models appeared removed from their everyday environment.

Expert European miniature painters

One of the most important pioneers in rococo miniature painting was the Venetian artist Rosalba Carriera. In Germany in particular, many painters followed Carriera’s artistic style – which was at least partly because her enthusiastic clients included some German rulers. Another artist whose amorous scenes already stood out in the early 18th century was the Swede Carl Gustav Klingstedt. Among Massé’s works, his family miniatures are of special significance. As this Parisian artist never signed his miniatures, the portraits of the artist’s mother and his sister-in-law are especially important (inv. no. 10526, 11141). The Tansey Collection contains the largest number of Massé’s miniatures anywhere in the world, so it is all the more welcome that his life and work are discussed in the catalogue on Rococo miniatures in two essays. The few artists working in France in the rococo period who signed some of their works include Courtois, Gauthier, Lefèvre, Marolles, Serre, Sompsois, Van Wyck and Welper. All of them are represented here by signed miniatures. One of the masterpieces in the collection was painted by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard. It is a self-portrait exhibited by the artist at the Académie de Saint-Luc in Paris in 1774 (inv. no. 10418, read more...).

Since German signed miniatures are as rare as in France, miniature-lovers will greatly appreciate the opportunity to study works known to be by Abel, Langefeldt, Linn and Sperling. The painters Baumeister, Desmarées, Fiedler, König and Nilson are present with unsigned portraits. One of the most interesting portrayals was created by a German artist: Linn’s group picture (a difficult one to interpret) showing a lady with two gentlemen (inv. no. 10962, read more...).

In Denmark miniature painting was very popular in the middle years of the 18th century, and many artists specialised in it. Foltmar, Høyer, Pilo, Pohle and Stein are among the important artists showcased here. One especially moving work is the rather melancholy portrait of the young king Christian VII, a masterpiece by Theodor Friedrich Stein (inv. no. 11095 read more...).

English miniature painters usually restricted their depictions to a bust of the sitter and painted them in front of a monochrome background. The sobriety of these works did not match the Tanseys’ taste, so English miniatures are rare in their collection. Some works by major artists can, however, be admired here. They were painted by Bogle, Hone, the Lens brothers, Meyer, Smart and Zincke

A past world comes back to life in the rococo miniature portraits. On the one hand it is the world in which the sitters actually lived, but on the other – and primarily – it is an ideal world rising from the imagination in line with the sitters’ desires. The artists created it with a sense of perfection and aiming to seduce the eye in a manner that is not found in later periods. The observer may enjoy being impressed and seduced by these pictures, these imagined scenes.