Spanish school ca. 1850

Spanish school ca. 1850.
"Portrait of a lady.
Oil on copper plate.
The period frame has lacking polychromy.
With illegible inscriptions and date on the back.
Measurements: 9,5 x 7 cm; 14 x 12 cm (frame).
From the Renaissance miniature portraits were pieces for private contemplation. Considered as jewellery, in the 17th century they became pieces of personal adornment or objects of gift, as they were mounted as jewellery. They were executed in a wide variety of techniques, such as oil on copper, pewter or ivory, gouaches on parchment or card and, from the 18th century, watercolour on ivory. This delicate art was gradually lost from the second half of the 19th century onwards, in parallel with the development of photography. The most common type of work in the 19th century was historicist representations, often set in the preceding century.