Nathaniel Hone was an Irish-born portrait and miniature painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768.
Self-portrait by Nathaniel Hone, circa 1760
Nathaniel Hone, 1718–84, Portrait of Harry Earl Aged 15. 1758, watercolour on ivory. Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
Final, revised, version of The Conjurer, 1775.
self portrait circa 1760
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century elites, mainly in England and France, and spread across the rest of Europe from the middle of the 18th century, remaining highly popular until the development of daguerreotypes and photography in the mid-19th century. They were usually intimate gifts given within the family, or by hopeful males in courtship, but some rulers, such as James I of England, gave large numbers as diplomatic or political gifts. They were especially likely to be painted when a family member was going to be absent for significant periods, whether a husband or son going to war or emigrating, or a daughter getting married.
A display case with 18th-century portrait miniatures at the National Museum in Warsaw.
Portrait Miniature of Margaret Roper by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1535–36
Christian Horneman's miniature portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven (1802).
The future Duke of Wellington in 1808, by Richard Cosway.
