Work in progress
European miniatures added to the Artists and Ancestors collection since
January 2026 include those below; More items may be added or amended during 2026.
Visitors to this website, are welcome to offer comments, especially with suggested attributions.
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By the late 18C, profile, and also grisaille type, miniatures of classical scenes and portraits became fashionable in France. The miniature portraits were inspired by pre1800 profile portraits, especially of German manufacture, made in multi-coloured wax, positioned on dark monochrome backgrounds.
Elsewhere in this collection, there are several examples of such wax portraits by Johann (John) Christian Rauschner., such as the wax portrait here. There being multiple examples, of wax portraits by him, housed in America art museums.
This miniature wax portrait is unsigned, but is attributed to Johann
Christoph Rauschner (1760-?). He was born in Germany, but created many
wax miniature portraits in the NE United States, in the late 18C and
early 19C. ds 888a.
This example depicts a classical scene of a man being served wine. ds 1541. It is in its original frame, and is believed to be by Piat Joseph Sauvage (1744-1818). The size is typical of the period, at 5cm.
There are similar examples in the Louvre catalogue, page 314. Much more elaborate examples appear in the Met European Miniatures catalogue on pages 106-108. There, on pages 104-106, are also depicted very elaborate examples by Jacques Joseph de Gault.
For comparison, and showing elsewhere in this Artists and Ancestors collection there is a classical miniature, depicting a mourning scene, which is believed attributable to either Sauvage or to de Gault. ds 1108.
Recently acquired for this collection in 2026, is a similar profile grisaille portrait, also attributed to Sauvage. ds 1546. The small size of this portrait is typical of late 18C "modest school" miniatures, and is a little smaller than the image here, being 34mm x 28mm.
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Also inspired by the wax profile portraits was Charles Guillaume Alexandre Bourgeois (1759-1832), who painted profile miniatures in naturalistic colours. Acquired recently for this collection is a profile, now attributed to Bourgeois, of a young girl. Although unsigned, the style and size, 5.cm. are commensurate with his profile miniatures, ds 1554. There are many similar examples illustrated in the 1994 Louvre catalogue.
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The girl has a hair style typical of 1795-99, with a bun and lace cover. After the French Revolution, women began to wear their hair short, to avoid the risk of persecution.
After the Revolution, the French dating was revised. In 1800, France officially began to use the French Republican Calendar, with most of the year falling within Year VIII (ending Sept 22) and the beginning of Year IX (starting Sept 23). The calendar featured 10-day weeks (décades) and months renamed for nature. Gregorian dates were officially replaced but often used in parallel.
Thus, from 1800 some miniatures show the date of the French Revolution Calendar. An example elsewhere in this collection, also by Bourgeois is this miniature portrait signed "C Bourgeois an 9", for Charles Guillaume Alexandre Bourgeois (1759-1832). 1154
The wording "an 9" refers to year 9 of the Revolutionary Calendar that was used in France from 1793 to 1804. Thus this miniature was painted in 1801. There are miniatures in this style by Bourgeois in the Louvre catalogue, pages 56-59.
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This next interesting pair of French miniatures date to around 1760-80. They are a little smaller than depicted below, being only 30mm x 22mm. No artist attribution has yet been made, and that may be difficult, as though well painted, they appear to be by a provincial artist. They are unusual in that the expressions of the lady and man, are relaxed and natural, rather than the formal expressions, normal seen in 18C and 19C portraits.
[[ It was most interesting to this collector, that the next sitter, M. Machand was a French provincial surgeon in the mid-18C, who would have dealt with accidents, routine minor injuries, and perhaps occasional, difficult obstetric deliveries As such he would not have been involved in attempting the dangerous type of experimental reproductive anatomy, as was pursued by man-midwife surgeons in London in around 1750.. Separately, this collector has researched those famous, but murderous surgeons, especially those in London, William Smellie and William Hunter, who deliberately murdered pregnant women, whilst conducting their cruel Caesarean experiments; and published a paper which is available at www.researchgate.net. Thus, anyone interested may wish to read;
They are highly unusual, in having attached mourning ribbons, and detailed biographies of the sitters, on the reverse.
A kind visitor, drawing on school-days French, has offered an attempted translation into English. The name seems to read as Machand, but may also be intended as Marchand?
No 1 Julien Machand, surgeon, of Pithiviers;
Born at Pithiviers 19 May 1718, son of Simon?? Machand and Margarite Julien.
Married10 October 1743 in Orleans in the parish La Chapelle-Saint-Mesmin to Maria Francois Montjoie. Julien died 7 September 1796.
He was the father of Etienne(Steven) Marchand apothecary of Pithiviers and grandfather of Maxime Machand of Paris and of Madame Madeleine d'Etampee.
No 2
Marie Francois Montjoie was born in Orleans in the parish of St Paul on 28 July 1729, the daughter of Philippe Mountjoie and Maria Claude Dechales.
She was married to Julien Machand, surgeon, of Pithiviers at Saint Mesmin 10 Oct 1743 She died 18 March 1792.
She was the mother of Etienne Machand apothecary of Pithiviers and grandmother of Maxime Machand of Paris and of Madame Madeleine d’Etampee.
** The name of Julin’s father is not clear, but Simon is my best guess.
Machand is translated as merchant. There are a number of variations in spelling as there is with Dechales and Montjoie
Unfortunately they are rather common surnames even up until this day.
The next pair of physionotraces, also have very brief biographical notes on the reverse, but apart from these, the only other miniature in this Artists and Ancestors collection, with such an attached and detailed biography, is believed to be this American self-portrait miniature by Meriva M Carpenter..
On the reverse there is the inscription shown, which reads "Meriva Carpenter - painted by herself - 1838. Meriva daughter Dr Ruggles and Juliana Pierce Carpenter was born April 28, 1802 in Ellington Tolland Co. Conn. Married to Eli, Feb 1820 son of Dr Eli and Abigail Baker Carpenter of Orford, Grafton Co. New Hamps here at Tolland, Tolland Co, Conn. Then moved in March 1820 from Greenwich, Hampshire Co. Mass. to Homer, Cortland Co NY for a permanent home". ds 1358
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Somewhat different in style, but an important part of miniature portrait history, are these two engraved French physionotrace, or American physiognotrace, portraits. Along with the above profile portraits by Sauvage and Bourgeois, these were also inspired by the wax profile portraits of the late 18C. The glass of one is cracked, but they are nevertheless interesting. ds 1548, 1549.
A physiognotrace is an instrument, designed to trace a person's physiognomy to make semi-automated portrait aquatints. Invented in France in 1783–1784, it was popular for some decades. The sitter climbed into a wooden frame (1.75m high x 0.65m wide), sat and turned to the side to pose. A pantograph connected to a pencil produced within a few minutes a "grand trait", a contour line on a piece of paper. With the help of a second scaling-down pantograph, the basic features of the portrait were transferred from the sheet in the form of dotted lines to a copper plate, which had previously been prepared with a ground for etching. One week later, the sitter received an etched plate and twelve little prints. The device but also the aquatint prints are called physiognotraces.
In 1783–1784, the Frenchman Gilles-Louis Chrétien invented the "physionotrace" to aid in the production of silhouette portraits, which became popular during the reign of Louis XVI. The life-size drawing was completed by an artist. Chrétien's device used the mechanics of the pantograph to transmit the tracing (via an eyepiece) of the subject's profile silhouette to an engraving needle. Thus, it enabled the production of multiple portrait copies. Chrétien's first partner, Edme Quenedey, made a drawing of the instrument in 1788 that is now in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. When Quenedey started his own business in Germany, Chrétien cooperated with the artist Jean-Baptiste Fouquet, and Jean Simon Fournier. Chrétien's workshop was taken over by Edme Bouchardy.
The inscription is hard to see, but appears to read; "dess p. Fournier grx. Chrétien inv du physionotrace rue honore vis-a-vis Corotoire [corridor between?] No's 45 et 133 a Paris." Thus, they were first drawn by Fournier, and then were engraved by Chrétien.
The shaded area, outlining the round portraits, 78mm x 66mm, has been printed into a slight rectangular recess in the surrounding paper. Taken with the brief biographical details on the reverse, it is therefore believed they are both original engravings, rather than being later reproductions.
There are very brief details of the sitters on the reverse.
The reverse warrants a better transcription than I can make, but seems to read';
1. Demoiselle Cheron de Vauroulin [Demoiselle = Miss]
(Louise Victoire Angelique)
Dame Simon
Naitre Bonnetable (Sarthe ) 12 fenrier 1784
Dedese a' Bonnetable J fevrier 1839
Jilleule Mr. Gonez.
2. Cheron de Vauroulin
(Nicolas Alexandre, Thene)
Naitre Montire (Loireu, Cher) 13 Jillee 175.
Decede a' Bonnetable (Sarthe) le 13 Mear, 183.
(ami de Mr Gonez.)
Hopefully, some kind visitor may provide a better transcription.
Note. Bonnétable (French pronunciation: [bɔnetabl]) is a
commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire,
northwestern France.
American Examples
The Chretien physionotrace portraits were acquired for this collection, to provide background to some American examples, as the process quickly became fashionable in America. For an interesting paper on the
subject see Precursors of photography: Early Visual Media - Physionotrace ... Thus it is interesting to compare Chretien with American examples;
One
of the joys of collecting miniature portraits, although rarely
possible, is to take an unidentified sitter and so to speak "bring them
back to life".
This
one took a while to work through from the A's in Ellen G Miles's book (thankfully his name was not Wyatt!),
before being matched with a portrait of William Poyntell, who died in
1811 and was an eminent merchant and publisher.
2. This other example was advertised on eBay at a modest Buy It Now price;
Offered for sale is this interesting miniature c1700s plate engraving. Piece was acquired form a Berks County, Pennsylvania
estate. This shows a 1700s gentleman, in that era's attire. Looks to be
of political genre. We have been unable to determine who this is. There
is a description of gentleman under the engraving. However due to age
and fade we are unable to fully read what it states. We also have found
there to be a pencil signed name on back. But again it is extremely
faded and very hard to see with the naked eye.My initial reaction was that it was a
St Memin portrait engraving, similar to one of
Christopher Grant Champlin which was acquired several years ago, see
View On
arrival, the rear of the portrait was searched for the name, but
could only make out that the second name might start Shipper..., perhaps
Shipperton or Shipperman, but it could also start Chipper...
From
a cursory glance the very faint engraved name under the portrait
appeared to be St Memin, so I searched for the portrait in the excellent
catalogue of St Memin's work by
Ellen Miles.
However, that was unsuccessful, so I wrote to the
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to see if the portrait was known.
I received a very kind reply which identified the sitter, but provided an unexpected answer in respect of the artist!
The portrait engraving you have is actually the work of Saint-Memin's Philadelphia student/partner Louis Lemet. The sitter is Col. Joseph Shippen
(1732-1810). I don't have any biographical information on him, but no
doubt he is a Philadelphian, since the Shippens were a prominent
Philadelphia family.
The original drawing for the portrait is owned by the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. They may also own an example of the engraving. I have been told that the Worcester (Massachusetts) Art Museum
also has an engraving, but I can't tell from my notes if I have
actually seen it! The engraving appears to be inscribed: Drawn &
engrd. By L LeMet. Philada. The letters "d" of engrd and "a" at the end
of Philada are both raised. There is some information on Lemet in the
Saint-Memin book. 
Whereas St Memin is well documented, I
had never heard of Louis Lemet (1779-1832) so interesting to find
out a little about him.
Around 1799 St Memin took Lemet, a French
emigre as his assistant, before beginning an itinerant life. However,
Lemet remained in Philadelphia until 1805, when he moved to
Albany where he advertised;
Physiognotrace Likenesses Engraved.
L Lemet, respectfully informs the ladies and gentlemen of Albany that
he takes likenesses in crayon as large as life, and engraves them of a
reduced size in a new and elegant style. The price of the large
likenesses, with an engraved plate and twelve impressions, is $25 for
gentlemen, and $35 for ladies, or $8 for the drawing only. For further
particulars apply at his room at Capt. Lockwood's, the corner of Dock
and State street, where a great number of portraits of distinguished
characters may be seen. 3. Chief of the Little Osages by St Memin
Far rarer than the American engraved portraits in this collection, is this St. Memin portrait in chalk on paper. The portrait is a little larger than most miniatures in this
collection, but is believed genuine, and a very rare work. St Memin must have copied it, as a reduced image, from the larger physiognotrace depicted in Miles's catalogue
It was acquired on Ebay from a reputable London UK art dealer who described it,
"This picture was purchased from a folder of prints
and drawing at my local Sunday antique market
recently, this is the only provenance I have for the
piece therefore I am offering the drawing as after St
Memin."
Ellen Miles book has detailed references to the Osages portraits and so it was possible to determine this Saint Memin portrait is of an Osages Chief, who was a member of The
First Delegation which arrived in Washington City in 1804.
It is
interesting that the portrait was purchased from London, and a potential
provenance suggests it fits the description of, "one of at least five
small watercolors commissioned from Saint-Mémin by a British diplomat,
Sir Augustus John Foster, who was in Washington from 1804 to 1807.
All
were copies of portraits Saint-Mémin had previously drawn with the aid
of a physiognotrace." See,
https://lewis-clark.org/native-nations/siouan-peoples/osages/osage-delegations.
Also popular, as profile portraits, especially in America, were painted, or cut-out, paper silhouettes.
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A recently added portrait, by a well-recorded artist, is this signed miniature by Etienne Bouchardy.(1797-1849). The detail on her dress is cleverly painted. 50mm x 40mm. ds 1542.
There is a portrait by Etienne Bouchardy on page 163 of the Met catalogue of European Miniatures. And, another by Bouchardy on page 55 of the Louvre catalogue. Schidlof writes, "Bouchardy was a good artist who can be put in the same class a Pierre d'Aubigny with who he has some resemblance."
Elsewhere in this Artists and Ancestors collection, is this miniature portrait signed "Bouchardy", possibly for the
artist of that name who was active in Paris from 1770-1799. He was noted
at the time for his use of the physionotrace, see Precursors of photography: Early Visual Media - Physionotrace ...
Or, the miniature may have been by his son, the better known artist Etienne Bouchardy (1797-1849).
The
sitter is unknown, but it is interesting that he was demonstrating his
loyalty to the revolution by wearing a tricolor neck scarf.
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Schidlof also writes of the next artist, Italian Carlo Errani (1804-1860); "Was a skilled miniaturist, whose works are well drawn and have colour."
Carlo Errani (Erani) was born in 1804 in Faenza, Italy and died in 1860 in Lille, France. He obtained his first lessons from A.Ricciardelli. Then went on to study at the Scuola di Disegno Faenza under Giuseppe Zauli, spent two years (in about 1830) in Rome, and thereafter, two years in Florence (where he took lessons from Raphaël Morghen). Finally, he moved to Paris, took lessons from Lizinska de Mirbel, and later settled in Lille. Between 1834 and 1838. Errani participated in several French Salons. Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard writes: "He was a talented artist whose known miniatures are still few and far from numerous".
The portrait is signed Carlo Errani, and is a little above average size, at 110mm x 85mm. His miniatures of young ladies, are more highly collected, but his skill is evident here.
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For the most part, portraits on porcelain, especially copies, are outside the ambit of this collection. However, there are rare exceptions; one such exception is this miniature painted on porcelain; ds 1544.
The miniature is 80mm x 60mm, and dated at centre-right, G B 1862, although it is difficult to read. From a scan of Blattel, that may refer to the Austrian painter, Georg Binder, who was active in Vienna c.1854-64. and who painted on porcelain in colour.
The portrait depicts the 18C author Françoise de Graffigny (née Françoise d'Issembourg du Buisson d'Happoncourt; 1695-1758), better known as Madame de Graffigny, a French novelist, playwright and salon hostess. Initially famous as the author of Lettres d'une Péruvienne, a novel published in 1747, she became the world's best-known living woman writer after the success of her sentimental comedy Cénie in 1750. Her reputation as a dramatist suffered when her second play at the Comédie-Française, La Fille d'Aristide, was a flop in 1758, and even her novel fell out of favor after 1830.
From then until the last third of the twentieth century, she was almost forgotten, but thanks to new scholarship and the interest in women writers generated by the feminist movement, Françoise de Graffigny is now regarded as a significant French writer of the eighteenth century.
The miniature appears to be is a reversed image, copy, of an 1835 painting by Victorine-Angélique-Amélie Rumilly, which is housed at Versailles. Such image reversal is usually the sign of a portrait copied from an engraved image or lithographic source. Hence this porcelain portrait was probably copied between 1835 and 1862, from the lithographed image below. However, as the colours do match, it seems the artist probably also had some access to the colours in the original painting
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An unsigned additions is this 18C miniature, being representative of a well dresed man of the late 18C. He is well painted and wearing a wig of about 1770-80. The detail on his neck-wear is especially finely detailed,.60mm x 48mm. ds 1552
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Also well-painted but unsigned is this next matronly lady. As an older woman, with a homely appearance, she represents a style change from the time of the above man, who had lived in the late 18C; and she is probably a German or Austrian lady. The artist has demonstrated skillful painting, of the fine detail of the lace cover over her hair. 62mm x 52mm. ds 1550.
She classifies as being in the Biedermeier style, named for an influential Central European art, design, and cultural style, roughly spanning 1815–1848, emphasizing cozy domestic comfort, simplicity, and functionalism. Emerging in Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia after the Napoleonic Wars, it reflected a middle-class shift toward private life, valuing family, leisure, literature, and elegant yet understated furniture.
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This fine miniature portrait is dated 1850, and is signed by Jean-Alexandre Maricot (aka Jeanne-Alexandre Maricot). (1788 >1848). The date of 1850 makes it one of his last miniatures. The miniature is 110mm x 90mm, and makes an interesting comparison with a larger Maricot miniature dated 1827, elsewhere in this collection. They both have similar poses, and bold, intense, colouring.
Schidlof describes miniatures by Maricot as follows:
"The miniatures of Maricot clearly show an influence of Isabey. They have a yellowish colouring with red-brown shadows and a fine, skilful and soft execution. The relief and expression of his miniatures are remarkable. Maricot was a very good miniaturist and some of his works are of great quality".<1785->
<1785->The 1827 Maricot miniature is extra large, at 185mm x
135mm. ds 1332 As a result of that it has suffered some cracking over the
years. Whilst cracks are generally to be avoided, it is almost
impossible to find 18C and 19C miniatures of large dimensions without
any evidence of cracking.
<1785->Indeed, the 1994 Louvre catalogue includes many large, cracked miniatures, attributed to important artists.
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The two above Maricot miniatures have clearly legible signatures, but a risk is taken, when bidding on miniatures, where the vendor advises a signature is illegible. Here are two such examples;
Although the vendor of the first miniature included an image of the signature, it was described as illegible. Hence, in buying a calculated risk was taken, as to whether the signature could be read on arrival, the size of he portrait being 65mm in diameter. Her hairstyle, with curls over her forehead, is similar to other examples prevailing in 1805-06. ds 1555. A similar risk was taken with the second miniature, which is 50mm x 40mm. ds 1556. Any chance of making an attribution, is usually improved by having access to a library of relevant books.
 |
| Bette Davis |
The eyes of ds 1555 are unusually prominent, and almost staring. An initial reaction was that the smash 1981 hit single, "Bette Davis Eyes"song by Kim Carnes could perhaps provide a suitable description! as the lyrics describe a woman who is seductive and dangerous, possessing the same intense, expressive gaze as Davis was noted for;
Her hair is Harlow gold
Her lips a sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold
She's got Bette Davis eyes.
On arrival the signature of ds 1555 was examined and soon read as Moteley, who is described by Schidlof as;
"French miniaturist who worked in Paris at about the end of the 18th century and exhibited at the Salon in 1795, Without being an artist of great quality, Moteley sometimes did miniatures which do not lack charm. Some of his works have a warm colouring similar to that of Hall, of whom Moteley was an imitator."
The same successful identification, was not readily evident with ds 1556, even though it is clearly dated 1919. It seems likely by a female artist, as it appears to read as, "Ms Loubet. 1919". No obvious reference to an artist of the early 20C, and bearing that name could be found. Although painted over a century later, her hair style is not dissimilar to ds 1555. Despite not being an outstanding miniature, it is well-painted, with the pose more expressive, and artistic, than some portraits. Being signed and dated, is a definite plus.
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This next miniature portrait, ds 1553 is somewhat of a puzzle. It is on wafer, larger than normal at 138mm x 102mm, and was purchased from California. Initially, there was the thought it looked like the work (together with bezel) of the American artist, John Henry Brown, who painted larger miniatures in the mid 19C, which almost seem photographic. Brown's technique was to take a daguerreotype of the sitter, and then paint a copy of that.
However, the vendor's description said it had originally been purchased from Germany; additionally, the packing at the rear is part of a list of Protestant Saints days in French, from an unknown year.
Currently, no attribution has been made, although it is of high quality, especially the way the sitter's face is painted. In style, the miniature does not seem to readily fit within the mid-19C norm for miniatures from France or Germany, and so visitor opinions of its origin, and references to comparable works by the same artist, are welcome.
Showing above for comparison, and in similar pose, are two miniature portraits by John Henry Brown.
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More miniatures to be added.
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July 2025. N.B. This blog was live in 2007-2020, and I regret I had not looked at it recently, due to my major research project on 18C English Literature, at www.tobiassmollett.blogspot.com 
There are over 1200 miniatures in the collection from America, Britain and Europe. All being easy to view and arranged in separate Galleries. In addition, hundreds more fine miniatures in other private collections can be accessed via links on the right. The exhibition format is:
a
