Jeremiah Lee
Original title: Jeremiah Lee
kurzbeschreibung
Around 1769 John Singleton Copley painted the merchant Jeremiah Lee in miniature, using watercolor on ivory at a mere 3.8 by 3.2 centimeters. The piece belongs to the refined tradition of eighteenth-century portrait miniatures.
Description
A gray-haired man in dark clothing, his yellow collar the first thing the eye catches. The plain backdrop lets the face stand forward. The little picture sits in an oval metal frame set with red stones.
Context
Copley ranked among the leading American portrait painters of the eighteenth century. Jeremiah Lee was a wealthy merchant from Marblehead, Massachusetts. In colonial times, ivory miniatures served as personal keepsakes and marks of standing, and Copley often made such pieces for New England's prosperous merchant class.
Impact
Quiet dignity comes through the delicate handling and muted colors. The yellow collar strikes a restrained but clear note. The small scale makes the portrait feel intimate and personal.
Technique
The portrait is worked in watercolor on ivory, as was customary for eighteenth-century miniatures. Its detailed execution demanded an extremely fine brush. The oval metal frame with red stones protects the fragile ivory and at the same time raises the object's value.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)