Caballero de la familia Figueras Suro

Unidentified (Puerto Rican), Caballero de la familia Figueras Suro, 19th century, oil on panel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1996.91.28
Copied Unidentified (Puerto Rican), Caballero de la familia Figueras Suro, 19th century, oil on panel, 4 183 38 in. (10.58.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Teodoro Vidal Collection, 1996.91.28
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Artwork Details

Title
Caballero de la familia Figueras Suro
Artist
Unidentified (Puerto Rican)
Date
19th century
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
4 183 38 in. (10.58.5 cm)
Credit Line
Teodoro Vidal Collection
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on panel
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait male — unidentified — waist length
Object Number
1996.91.28

Artwork Description

It is not always possible to identify the sitter in a miniature portrait, and research is still being done on some of the works in the Museum’s collection. Miniatures became popular in England during the early 1700s, commissioned by wealthy families on the occasions of births, engagements, weddings, and bereavements. These paintings, elaborately set into lockets or brooches, provided the wearer with a sentimental connection to a loved one. The back of the miniature often revealed a lock of the sitter’s hair, symbolizing affection, commitment, or loss. The daguerreotype, invented in 1839, provided a cheaper, faster alternative, and portrait miniatures grew less popular. At the turn of the twentieth century, with the establishment of the American Society of Miniature Painters, miniatures enjoyed a brief revival.