French school, ca. 1830

French school, ca. 1830
"St. Anthony of Padua."
Watercolor miniature.
Silver mount.
Measurements: 13 x 11 cm.

Miniature of devotional theme, with the representation of St. Anthony of Padua with Franciscan habit and an idealized face looking at the sky, carrying a bouquet in his right hand.

The art of miniatures had a double aspect: one as an object in which to preserve the image of loved ones, in the form of small portraits, and the other with a sacred theme, with Marian or saintly representations, such as the one shown here.

Since the Renaissance, miniature portraits, framed in a circle or oval, were pieces for private contemplation. Considered as jewelry, in the seventeenth century they became pieces of personal adornment or a gift object, being mounted as jewelry. They were made in a great variety of techniques, such as oil on copper, tin or ivory, gouaches on parchment or cardboard and, since the 18th century, watercolor on ivory. This delicate art will be lost since the second half of the 19th century, in parallel to the development of photography. But in its sacred aspect, as a devotional object, it will continue to be done.