Portrait of a Gentleman
Medium
Watercolor on ivory
Dimensions
6.7 × 5.4 cm (2 5/8 × 2 1/8 in.); Framed: 8.6 × 6 cm (3 3/8 × 2 3/8 in.)
Classification
miniature painting
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
5303
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Richard Cosway (1742–1821), a leading British miniaturist and Royal Academician, created this delicate *Portrait of a Gentleman* in 1808. Working during the height of the Regency era, Cosway specialized in small-scale portraits that captured the refined elegance of Britain’s aristocracy and gentry. His works were especially popular among fashionable circles, where such miniatures served both as personal mementos and subtle displays of status. Painted in watercolor on ivory, the piece exemplifies the technical demands and luminous beauty of the medium. Ivory’s translucent surface allowed Coswa...