Augustin Piplart-Huart

AUGUSTIN PIPLART-HUART (Belgium, 1813-1887)
"Male portrait".
Miniature in oil.
Signed.
Presents faults in the frame.
Measurements: 13 x 11,5 cm; 35 x 32,5 x 5,5 cm (frame).

Miniature with the representation of a middle-aged male character, with elegant attire: trench coat, vest and setda bow tie. His severe features denote authority.

Augustin Piplart was a Belgian painter who specialized in miniatures, portraying both wealthy patrons of his time and historical figures such as Napoleon III.

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. During the 19th century, the most common in this type of pieces were historicist representations, often set in the previous century.