A miniature can be a painting in any medium, on any support as long as it conforms to specific dimensions i.e. it can fit in the palm of the hand.

In their specifications, The Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers,  stipulate that a miniature must not exceed 6" x 4.5", including the frame.

In the case of portrait miniatures (human), the head must not exceed 2" in depth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan works with traditional materials, vellum (calf skin), or recycled ivory , both of which are quite transparent, giving the work a luminous quality.  The work is both labour intensive and demanding and it may take several weeks or more to complete the work, depending on the prior commitments of the artist.

The term miniature derives from the Latin word miniare, meaning to colour with red lead, or minium, Latin for red lead, a pigment  used by manuscript illuminators.  The word miniature has  come to mean small by association with other words beginning with the Latin prefix min, like minor. 

Vermillion, an expensive pigment now as it was five hundred years ago,  was used to highlight important text in manuscripts, hence the term, red letter days.

Technically, miniatures are images painted in the same way as manuscript illuminations or limnings, that is in water colour and body colour (opaque water colour).  Both  terms, illumination and limning derive from the medieval Latin word luminare, meaning to give light. 

The craft of illumination was handed down in families, from father to son, or daughter.  It is not clear who h, the most outstanding limner of the 16th century learned his skills from, but in his Treatise on the art of Limning he says that he much admired the skill of Holbein. 

The Tudor miniature contained more than just a portrait.  These little gems were loaded with symbolism, complete stories contained on a few inches of vellum.  Hilliards masterpiece, Young Man Among Roses, is a wonderful example of his expertise.  It is said it is a portrait of Robert Dudley, Elizabeth I's favourite courtier.  We know that whoever it is, he was most likely to have been at Elizabeth's court by the colour of his costume, black and white, which were the Queens colours.  This is just one of the many symbols contained within this tiny portrait.  This portrait by Hilliard and many more examples are housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

From the Tudor period through to the 18th century, the base for the miniature was vellum (calf skin) which was pasted on to a playing card for support.  Holbein, Hilliard, Oliver, Hoskins and Samuel Cooper , to name a few, all used vellum.  It was not until the East India Company became a trading concern in 1763 that the use of vellum would be superseded by ivory.

These miniature treasures fell into decline with the invention of photography and many miniaturists turned their hand to the new invention by earning their living hand colouring the early photographs.

The Victoria & Albert Museum has an extensive and possibly the best collection of English portrait miniatures in the world. However the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and the Wallace Collection in London, have excellent collections.   

Further reading: 

The Portrait Miniature in England by Katherine Coombs, Curator, Department of Prints, Drawings and Paintings, V&A Museum

The English Portrait Miniature by John Murdoch, Jim Murrell, Patrick J. Noon and Roy Strong.