Miniature Paintings

The cultural values of West Texas heritage are surprisingly revealed in the miniature painting of Madame Recamier that now resides in the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. Such miniatures reflect the desires of early settlers here to create a lifestyle of sophistication and luxury, even on the dusty isolated High Plains of Texas. Madame Recamier represented the ideal portrait of the Neoclassical era in Napoleonic France. She was considered the epitome of elegance and beauty by her contemporaries. Portraits of her depicted a life of aristocratic leisure. In collecting these tiny images of her, owners could be transported to another time and place, creating a means to escape the harsh realities of Panhandle life. These portraits of Madame Recamier have the potential to shape and alter what viewers saw as idealistic, no matter the time or place. Europeans at the time of the original portrait as well as someone in the present day Panhandle can pass through time and space to truly be captured by the essence of the work. The genre of miniatures was a trend in history that can be seen through the reproductions of art, especially within the U.S. Ownership of original classical art has not been realistic aspiration for many people of the Texas Panhandle. This obstacle promoted the growth of reproductions of fine art and it changed the perception of how they were valued. Differing from personal miniature portraits, the ones of famous faces like Madame Recamier were created because she stood as a symbol of high status. Mme Recamier was a prominent figure of Napoleonic Paris, and she was admired by the eyes of many, which contributed to her long-held reputation as an icon of fashion and femininity. The popularity of miniature portraits of Mme Recamier profoundly expanded her fame. The portability of miniatures also significantly contributed to the distance that these pieces had the potential to reach. The artifacts themselves traveled to new lands--including West Texas--while at the same time the vision of the original artist François Gérard is being conveyed to all who are exposed to the work. Below you can see two of the original paintings, on the left is Jacques-Louis David's Mme Juliette Récamier, oil on canvas, 1800 and on the right is François Gérard's Mme Récamier, oil on canvas, Musee Carnavalet, Paris dated 1802. Both convey Greek influence in her clothing and reclining pose, making them a perfect project to connect our studies of Greece to our home in Texas.