Artist Trading Cards

Artist trading card

Artist trading cards are small works of art -- about the size of a baseball card -- that people trade with each other.  Networks have sprung up so that their creators can trade them.  Cards may be created using any media or combination of media.  M. Vänçi Stirnemann is credited in many circles with popularizing the modern artist trading card movement by trading his original small works of art for those of others.  These swaps were held in his Zurich gallery during 1996 and 1997.  Today, there are websites and magazines devoted to the ATC movement.

Portrait Miniatures

Portrait miniature of Beethoven

Portrait miniatures flourished in Europe from the 16th century to the 19th century.  They served much as snapshots do today.  A traveling man might carry a miniature of his wife or girlfriend as a keepsake.  A rich man wanting to marry off his daughter would send a portrait miniature to potential suitors as a way of introducing her.

Portrait miniatures were usually done in gouache, oil, enamel, or, most often, watercolor.  Many were painted on ivory.  Some miniatures were small enough to be worn as jewelry, on snuff-boxes or on the small ivory boxes but bigger ones could be displayed in cabinets.

With the rise of photography, many miniaturists began trying to make their works look like photos.  However, this was a losing battle, and portrait miniatures as an art form had all but died out by the early 20th century.

Still here

I've been without benefit of internet for a couple of days due to moving, but I'm still here.