All three factors are equally important to create contemporary fine art in miniature, helping to set this specialised field apart and maintain a crucial link to it's traditions. 

Just because a painting is small does not make it a miniature. Likewise fine detail alone is not enough. A true miniature, whether classical or contemporary, is painstakingly executed on a minute scale using very fine brushstrokes. To assist modern artists and ensure the continuation of miniature painting in the west, some Societies established a helpful 1/6th guideline for scale, others that a portrait head or principle object cannot be more than 2" (with naturally tiny subjects there is some flexibility). One of the descriptions often used is that the painting is 'portable' and a miniature can fit in the palm of your hand.

Historically this kind of painting was known as limning in Britain and referred simply to watercolour paintings on vellum. These were originally stuck to a playing cards for support and grew out of the techniques used to illustrate hand-written books, often practiced by the same artists.  (A wonderful example from the 16th century is 'The Golf Book' by Simon Bening, shown above, which measures 4" x 3.5"). You can also watch the process used to create a portrait miniature on vellum in a video from the V & A museum here.

Over the centuries Miniature Art has evolved to encompass changing trends and ideas; today many different mediums and surfaces are used for a wide variety of subject matter by artists all over the world. The word 'miniature' has passed into common usage, as a result of these early paintings, to describe something scaled down but 'perfectly formed'.

Anyone keen to learn more from contemporary artists will find this book excellent: Techniques of Painting Miniatures by Sue Burton, a founding member of the Hilliard Society in the UK. (Clicking on the title will allow you to see a preview).

Thanks to the efforts of some very experienced miniature artists over the past few years, the following links to societies and individual artists will give you an insight into the fascinating world of 'painting in the little'. Best of all, visit an exhibition of miniature art if you possibly can!