English school, ca. 1800.
"Portrait of a lady with a dog.
Gouache on vellum.
Bronze frame.
It presents faults.
Measurements: 2,5 x 2 cm; 6,5 x 4,5 x 0,4 cm.
From the Renaissance the miniature portraits, framed in a circle or oval, were pieces for private contemplation. Considered as jewellery, in the 17th century they became pieces of personal adornment or as gifts, when they were mounted as jewellery. They were executed in a wide variety of techniques, such as oil on copper, pewter or ivory, gouaches on parchment or cardboard and, from the 18th century, watercolour on ivory. This delicate art was gradually lost from the second half of the 19th century, in parallel with the development of photography.