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Miniature painting
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Henry VIII Maqāmāt of al-Ḥarīrī Radha and Krishna on the terrace, Indian miniature painting, Kishangarh style, c. 1760. “Mejnūn Being Brought by a Beggar Woman to Leylā's Tent,” miniature by Mīr Sayyid ʿAlī in the Khamseh of Neẓāmī done for Shāh Ṭahmāsp I, 1539–43; in the British Library (OR. MS. 2265 fol 157v)
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Henry VIII
Henry VIII Portrait miniature of Henry VIII, from letters patent for Thomas Foster, probably painted by Lucas Horenbout, 1524; in the National Art Library in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Miniature painting

art
Also known as: limning
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•History

Miniature painting, small, finely wrought portrait executed on vellum, prepared card, copper, or ivory. The name is derived from the minium, or red lead, used by the medieval illuminators. Arising from a fusion of the separate traditions of the illuminated manuscript and the medal, miniature painting flourished from the beginning of the 16th century down to the mid-19th century. The portrait miniature, as a separate portrait enclosed in either a locket or a covered “portrait...

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