Miniature paintings before the time of photography

Miniatures are small gouache and watercolor paintings, usually portraits. Due to their technique, they formed their own art form and their painters were their own group of artists.
Miniatures were painted with a magnifying glass and a very thin mink hair brush. At first, parchment and ivory were used as a painting base, later paper, cardboard and porcelain.

Härkälä's exhibition contains over 60 skillful miniature paintings. They depict kings, rulers and other high-ranking persons, as well as composers and other artists. Some of the paintings are small reproductions of famous portraits of their time.

Miniatures have traditionally been highly valued in European countries and Russia. Their heyday was from the 16th to the 19th centuries. From the 1840s, photography began to become increasingly common and replaced miniatures. Today, miniatures are prized collector's items.
The size of the miniatures varies from 10 -13 cm.