Miniature
A small and detailed piece of art, usually a portrait, executed in gouache or watercolour. Sixteenth century miniatures were usually painted in body colour on playing cards or on vellum. In the seventeenth century portrait miniatures were sometimes painted in oil on a metal surface. In the eighteenth century the character was changed by the introduction of ivory as a ground, often painted in transparent watercolour.
Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex
attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger
circa 1532-1533
NPG 6310
Queen Elizabeth I
by Nicholas Hilliard
1572
NPG 108
Peter Oliver
by Peter Oliver
circa 1625-1630
NPG 4853
Oliver Cromwell
by Samuel Cooper
1649
NPG 5589
Brook Taylor
probably by Louis Goupy
1720
NPG 1920
George Sackville Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville
by Nathaniel Hone
1760
NPG 4910
Richard Cosway
by Richard Cosway
circa 1790
NPG 304
Mary Anne Clarke (née Thompson)
by Adam Buck
1803
NPG 2793
James Lonsdale
by James Lonsdale
circa 1810
NPG 1854
Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Bt
by Sir William Charles Ross
circa 1840
NPG 2056
Angela Burdett-Coutts, Baroness Burdett-Coutts
by Sir William Charles Ross
circa 1847
NPG 2057
Emilia Francis (née Strong), Lady Dilke
by Charles Camino
1882
NPG 1828