Smithsonian American Art Museum
Portrait of a Gentleman
Unidentified · ca. 1830
By the 1830s, miniatures appeared in various shapes and sizes, becoming less “intimate” than locket miniatures. Patrons now exhibited these pictures more publicly in frames and cases in their homes. Artists, however, continued to use devices to draw viewers into the image. In this portrait, the rich blue fabric complements the colors in the image, and highlights the gentleman’s fixed gaze.
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