Etiquette and Masquerade: Miniature Portraits of the Baroque
13 Mar 2021 — 16 Jan 2022 at Building of the Winterthur Museum of Art
· Winterthur
This temporary exhibition at the Winterthur Museum of Art brings together a remarkable selection of miniature portraits from the Baroque era. Small in scale yet monumental in ambition, these works reveal the dual nature of courtly life: the strict codes of etiquette that governed appearance and behavior, and the playful spirit of masquerade that allowed identities to be concealed, transformed, or reinvented.
Miniature portraiture flourished across Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries as a highly personal art form — exchanged between lovers, carried by travelers, and displayed as tokens of power and affection. The Baroque period brought to this tradition a new intensity of expression, richness of material, and delight in theatrical illusion.
Visitors are invited to look closely at these intimate objects and discover the stories of the individuals they immortalize, as well as the skilled artists who captured them in exquisite detail.
Miniature portraiture flourished across Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries as a highly personal art form — exchanged between lovers, carried by travelers, and displayed as tokens of power and affection. The Baroque period brought to this tradition a new intensity of expression, richness of material, and delight in theatrical illusion.
Visitors are invited to look closely at these intimate objects and discover the stories of the individuals they immortalize, as well as the skilled artists who captured them in exquisite detail.
About the venue
