Eye miniatures or Lovers' eyes were

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

miniatures, normally watercolour on ivory, depicting the eye or eyes of a spouse, loved one or child. These were usually commissioned for sentimental reasons and were often worn as bracelets, brooches, pendants or rings with richly decorated frames, serving the same emotional need as lockets hiding portraits or locks of hair. This fad started in the late 1700s and

miniaturist A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...

s such as

Richard Cosway Richard Cosway (5 November 1742 – 4 July 1821) was a leading English portrait painter of the Georgian and Regency era, noted for his miniatures. He was a contemporary of John Smart, George Engleheart, William Wood, and Richard Crosse. ...

and

George Engleheart George Engleheart (1750–1829) was one of the greatest England, English painters of portrait miniatures, and a contemporary of Richard Cosway, John Smart, William Wood, and Richard Crosse (painter), Richard Crosse. Family and home Engleheart ...

were responsible for some of the first pieces.

History

Eye miniatures are believed to have originated when the Prince of Wales (later

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

) felt the need to send the widow

Maria Fitzherbert Maria Anne Fitzherbert (''née'' Smythe, previously Weld; 26 July 1756 – 27 March 1837) was a longtime companion of George, Prince of Wales (later King George IV of the United Kingdom). In 1785, they secretly contracted a marriage that was i ...

a token of his love. This gesture and the romance that went with it was frowned upon by the court, so a miniaturist was employed to paint only the eye and thereby preserve anonymity and decorum. The couple went through a form of marriage on 15 December 1785, though all present knew the marriage was invalid by the

Royal Marriages Act The Royal Marriages Act 1772 (12 Geo 3 c. 11) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain which prescribed the conditions under which members of the British royal family could contract a valid marriage, in order to guard against marriages th ...

, since

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

had not approved. Reportedly Maria’s eye miniature was worn by George IV, hidden under his lapel. This is regarded as the event which led to lovers' eyes becoming fashionable, appearing between 1790 and the 1820s in the courts and affluent families of England, Russia, France and more rarely, America. These portraits could also be found on various other trinkets, framed by precious stones on the lids of toothpick containers, snuffboxes and other small vessels. They would sometimes contain locks of hair gifted by the sitter to further accentuate the sentimentality of the piece. The hair could either be incorporated into the portrait itself or encased behind glass or crystal on the piece of jewellery. The high prices fetched by these items has generated a thriving market in imitations. A note in Lady Eleanor Butler's diary recorded the arrival of a young man who had made the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

, and had brought "an Eye, done in Paris and set in a ring – a true French idea."Candice Hern – Romance novelist

References

*{{cite book, first=Graham C. , last=Boettcher, title=The Look of Love: Eye Miniatures from the Skier Collection ; xhibition and Accompanying Catalogueurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWKWZwEACAAJ, accessdate=19 July 2013, year=2012, publisher=D. Giles Limited, isbn=978-1-907804-01-4 *Grootenboer, H. (2006). Treasuring the Gaze: Eye Miniature Portraits and the Intimacy of Vision. ''The Art Bulletin,'' ''88''(3), 496-507. doi:10.1080/00043079.2006.10786302. Retrieved 18 March 2017.

External links

Eye miniatures
* ttp://www.salon.com/2012/01/21/the_secret_history_of_lovers_eyes/ Mustich, E. (2012). The secret history of “lover’s eyes”. Types of jewellery