Major General Sir Barry Close

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Artist: John Smart (British, 1741–1811)
Medium: Gouache and watercolor on ivory
Size: Image: 3 1/8 x 2 1/2 inches (7.9 x 6.4 cm)
Museum: Yale Center for British Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

Many of the portraits in this exhibition are made on a small scale. In the European tradition, these works, which could be held in a hand or worn, are called “miniatures.” The term comes from illuminated medieval manuscripts. By the eighteenth century, Europeans also used this term to describe works made in the Mughal tradition. They saw affinities with their fine detail and glossy surfaces.

Artists from both traditions drew inspiration and learned from one another. Portrait miniatures often expressed personal ties. Company agents who were far away from their families in Britain kept them as portable tokens of their loved ones. Others memorialized powerful figures like Robert Clive, whose victory at the Battle of Plassey marked the start of the Company’s rule in India. In the nineteenth century, miniatures of buildings became popular souvenirs.

Text: Yale Center for British Art.