17th Century Dutch Portrait Miniature
An atmospheric 17th Century Dutch School miniature portrait.
Expressive, skilled and characterful. To the front we see a busy sea of faces, the main character in historical dress of the period, holding a paintbrush. Perhaps this is a portrait of the artist or his master at work teaching a class?
To the back, within an etching, we see a couple in a tavern, seated at a table with a wine pitcher and tankard as they pour over a document.
The charming work is painted in oil on copper, and held in a slim ebony frame, they also - unusually - feature an etched plate side illustrating another set of portraits. The piece may have not have been painted purposefully as a miniature painting, but drafts for a larger potential commissioned work, or as an apprentice piece.
The etchings and method of painting is of the Dutch School, the freedom in the mark making on the back etched plate is expressive and reminiscent of the work of the Dutch Master Rembrandt.
Description
An atmospheric 17th Century Dutch School miniature portrait.
Expressive, skilled and characterful. To the front we see a busy sea of faces, the main character in historical dress of the period, holding a paintbrush. Perhaps this is a portrait of the artist or his master at work teaching a class?
To the back, within an etching, we see a couple in a tavern, seated at a table with a wine pitcher and tankard as they pour over a document.
The charming work is painted in oil on copper, and held in a slim ebony frame, they also - unusually - feature an etched plate side illustrating another set of portraits. The piece may have not have been painted purposefully as a miniature painting, but drafts for a larger potential commissioned work, or as an apprentice piece.
The etchings and method of painting is of the Dutch School, the freedom in the mark making on the back etched plate is expressive and reminiscent of the work of the Dutch Master Rembrandt.
