26 
House & Garden 
MINIATURES of YESTERDAY 
for COLLECTORS of TODAY 
Jf liat to Look for When One Starts a Collection 
of Miniatures—Some of the Artists 
— The Books to Read 
GARDNER TEALL 
Miniature of MarthaWash- 
ington Greene. By Ed¬ 
ward G. Marlhone 
Another of Marlbone’s 
miniatures—one of an old 
lady 
D O you remember the 
old stor}’ of Apelles, 
the ancient Greek artist? 
Apelles went one fine 
afternoon to call on Proto¬ 
genes, an artist of Rhodes, 
and finding him out, picked 
uj) a blank panel of wood 
which he found in his 
studio and drew in colored 
line what was probably his 
own profile before leaving. 
Protogenes returned and 
seeing the panel, drew a 
still finer profile within it 
and left it on his easel so 
that Apelles, if again he 
called (undoubtedly he and 
Protogenes were intimate), 
would see it. This Apelles 
did and he added within Protogenes’ drawing 
a third one in still another call. When Proto¬ 
genes came in and beheld Apelles’ line he de¬ 
clared himself out-skilled, since Apelles’ draw¬ 
ing was so minute that there was no room 
within it for a third drawing. 
I doubt if we have record of an earlier 
miniature than that! We are told that this 
tablet was treasured by Caesar in his villa .on 
the I’alatine Hill, perishing in the fire that 
eventually destroyed it. 
In the old days before the possibilities of 
photography were dreamed of, portraits in 
miniature held an unassailable place in the 
affections of those to whom the likeness of 
friend or loved one was treasured in this 
form. In those days before the family album 
had been added to implements of torture, the 
miniature reached a state of unsurpassed artis¬ 
tic development. 
A Perpetuated .4rt 
Hajjpily miniature painting never became 
a lost art and some noteworthy works are 
produced by our contemporary miniaturists, 
many of whom have achieved fame in this 
field. However, the charm of the old minia¬ 
ture exercises a fascination to which the col¬ 
lector easily succumbs. While there is a de¬ 
cided advantage in knowing the subject of a 
miniature, the identity of a portrait does not 
affect its direct esthetic value in the least. 44'e 
admit, of course, that a portrait by Rembrandt 
or Iry Valesquez of a known person has added 
to it the historical interest derived from that 
knowledge; at the same time the portrait of a 
person unknown from the hand of either mas¬ 
ter would be none the less fine for all the 
mystery that surrounded the identity of the 
subject of the likeness. 
And so it is that portrait 
miniatures are interesting 
to collectors even when one 
does not know whom they 
represent. 4\'ere it otherwise, 
how many exquisite mas- 
terjrieces of the miniatur¬ 
ist’s art would still be rele¬ 
gated to the attic, would 
still be begging purchasers 
when discovered in the 
shops of antiquaries! 
\\’hen one comes to con¬ 
sider how very popular 
miniature painting was 
through a long period, a 
popularity well revived in 
our day, indeed, it will not 
seem so strange that thou¬ 
sands of portrait miniatures 
of excellence should have survived and have 
come down to our own time to tempt the 
friendly collector who discovers in them the 
beauty and reminiscent suggestion that clings 
to a fine portrait miniature from a skillful 
hand. 
The Greek Method 
I'he miniature portrait painters of antiquity 
undoul:)tedly employed the encaustic method. 
'I'he ancient Greek type of this genre were 
probably produced in the manner described by 
Cyril Davenport as follows: “A wooden 
panel, cedar, boxwood or pearwood, was 
primed with distemper, probably white or 
cream, and well rubljed smooth. On this the 
design was traced, then colors in powder were 
mixed with melted wax and quickly applied 
in a diagrammatic way within the lines drawn 
out on the panel. The color was laid on either 
with a strong brush or some sort of wooden 
style like those used now for modeling in wax. 
\4’hen this inlaying of the wax was finished a 
warm iron was held over the whole thing to 
give it an even surface. Small pieces of wax 
could be added as necessarcc 'Lhe effect of 
such semi-transparent wax over the white 
groundwork must have been brilliant, and 
nearly resembling the transparent vitreous 
enamel used at a much later period. Such 
wax paintings, fiat and Ijrilliant, must have 
Ijeen very decorative, and it is most unfortu¬ 
nate that none of them now exists in a perfect 
condition.” Later encaustic panels have, in¬ 
deed, come down to us, notably the encaustic 
portrait panels in the Metropolitan Museum 
of Art, New York. However, these are larger 
than were the true miniatures of antiquity. 
Pliny tells us in one of his paragraphs that 
“Laia Cyzicena of Rome painted portraits of 
The portrait of Clara Eugenia, daughter of 
Philip II, by Gonzales, in the Prado Gallery, 
shows a miniature worn as locket 
James Sayville, by 
Sarah Goodridge 
Capt. .1. 5. Fray, by 
Washington Allston 
riSjaarinad 
Ifd 
t)iiiaii iinrcil 
iKlciinqiiil 
Early miniature from a Ms. 
by Girolamo dai Libri 
A miniature portrait 
by Copley 
