The Stuart era, named for the Stuart family who ruled Scotland and later all of Britain, spanned the years 1603 to 1714. Although the period was fraught with political and religious conflict, it saw the flourishing of the portrait miniature under artists like Richard Gibson (ca.1615–1690), John Hoskins (ca. 1590–1665), and Hoskins’s nephew Samuel Cooper (ca. 1608–1672). Portraiture in general gained new prominence, and Cooper in particular elevated watercolor: A sheer water-soluble paint prized for its luminosity, applied in a wash to light-colored surfaces such as vellum, ivory, or paper. Pigments are usually mixed with water and a binder such as gum arabic to prepare the watercolor for use. See also gum arabic. miniatures painted on vellum: A fine parchment made of calfskin. A thin sheet of vellum was typically mounted with paste on a playing card or similar card support. See also table-book leaf. to an equal footing with oil paintings. Many portraits of monarchs and key courtiers were painted not from life but from established patterns of beauty and facial likenesses that circulated through printed sources, leading to difficulties in differentiating sitters and establishing attributions. By the time Queen Anne died in 1714, to be succeeded by a new dynasty of Hanoverian princes, the portrait miniature was beginning its own transfer of power, transitioning from vellum to ivory: The hard white substance originating from elephant, walrus, or narwhal tusks, often used as the support for portrait miniatures. after the new technique was introduced to Britain by miniaturist Bernard Lens (1682–1740).
doi: 10.37764/8322.8.1200