This project focuses on pigments used in early modern portrait miniature painting. It does by exploring the terminology and colour samples found in artist Elias Brenner's (1647–1717) treatise Nomenclatura et species colorum miniatæ picturæ : thet är : Förteckning och proff på miniatur färgår (1680).
Nationalmuseum has an extensive collection of European portrait miniatures from the 16th to the 20th century. Originally, the word 'miniature' did not refer to the size of the painting: instead, it came from the bright orange-red pigment – 'minium' in Latin – often used in illumination.
Following the great demand for portraits at the European courts in the 16th and 17th centuries, Swedish queen Christina invited foreign miniature painters to Stockholm in 1647. The genre quickly became popular in Sweden, thriving well into the 20th century.
1. Elias Brenner (1647–1717), Susanna Elisabeth Brenner (1677–1700), the Artist's Daughter, m. Gyllenhöök, NMB 337.
Photo: Erik Cornelius/Nationalmuseum
2. Elias Brenner (1647–1717), Hartwick Losck (b. 1655), Brewer, painted in 1711, NMB 242.
Foto: Erik Cornelius/Nationalmuseum.
Portrait miniatures were painted using Gum Arabic as a binder, which is a difficult technique where the artist’s skill was not so much in painting on a small scale but rather in mastering the specific materials. The first treatise on portrait miniature painting, The Arte of Limning, was written in London by Nicholas Hilliard (1547–1619) between 1598–1603 and was followed by Edward Norgate's (1581–1650) Miniatura or The Arte of Limning, printed in London 1648. While both authors name different pigments, it is difficult to establish the terminology in terms of which pigments were actually used. In 1680, the Swedish portrait miniaturist Elias Brenner [images 1–2], was the first to publish a treatise with both terminology and painted samples for colour reference [images 3–7].
3. The page showing the pigments in Elias Brenner’s (1647–1717) Nomenclatura et species colorum miniatæ picturæ : thet är: Förteckning och proff på miniatur färgår printed in Stockholm 1680. In the document, which part in Swedish translates as Nomenclatura et species colorum miniatæ picturæ : that is : terminology and samples of colours for miniatures, Brenner lists thirty different pigments which he recommended for portrait miniature painting. Miniature painting is a painting technique that uses Gum Arabic for binder, on vellum, which is very thin parchment, or on ivory. It developed from book illumination in the 1520’s and the term miniature relates to the materials used rather than the size. Brenner gives the terminology in Latin, French and Swedish, and every pigment has a painted sample for colour reference. In fact, this is the first document on pigments for painting ever that has painted samples, and it yields a unique opportunity for researching historical pigments.
Photo: National Library of Sweden.
4. Detail of Brenner’s document showing the white, red and blue pigments, with their names in Latin.
Photo: National Library of Sweden.
5. Close-up of the Ultramarinum sample.
Photo: Cecilia Rönnerstam/Nationalmuseum.
6. Close-up of the Carmesinus color sample, a substrate pigment made from a red colourant that is extracted from lice.
Photo: Cecilia Rönnerstam/Nationalmuseum.
7. Close-up of the Cinnabaris sample, red mercury sulphide that occurs naturally but was also made artificially under the name Vermilion.
Photo: Cecilia Rönnerstam/Nationalmuseum.
Brenner's work offers a unique opportunity to research historical colour terminology, by setting the nomenclature into context and identifying the colour samples through scientific analysis [images 8–10].
For access to the scientific instruments needed for pigment analysis, the project collaborates with the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, the Cultural Heritage Laboratory at the Swedish National Heritage Board, and Bruker Scandinavia. While the four known exemplars of the Nomenclatura, all of which are included in the project, can be found in the National Library in Stockholm, the Rogge Library in Strängnäs and Uppsala University Library, a substantial amount of Elias Brenner’s portrait miniatures are now in the Nationalmuseum’s collection.
The research project is carried out by Cecilia Rönnerstam. Read about Brenner’s term Cyprium for the pigment ultramarine: Lost in translation – changing the meaning of Cyprium from azurite to ultramarine (ICOM-CC Publications Online).
8. Examination with XRF (x-ray diffraction) in co-operation with Swedish National Heritage Board in Visby, who lent the instrument. XRF is used for identifying inorganic pigments by analyzing its elements.
Photo: Cecilia Rönnerstam/Nationalmuseum.
9. A close-up of the XRF (x-ray diffraction) identifying the pigment ultramarin, made from the mineral lapis Lazuli, by showing the elements silicon (Si), aluminium (Al), sulphur (S), and copper (Cu).
Photo: Cecilia Rönnerstam/Nationalmuseum.
10. Examination using FORS (fiber optics reflectance spectroscopy) in collaboration with the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, who travelled to Uppsala with the instrument. This technique can be used for substrate pigments made with organic colourants from plants or insects.
Photo: Cecilia Rönnerstam/Nationalmuseum.