1778
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Portrait of Charlotte Bertie, née Warren, 4th Countess of Abingdon is a 1778 unspecified by John Smart, a Rococo painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a tiny, finely painted portrait of a woman with powdered hair, a blue ribbon, and a lace collar. This is a preparatory sketch—like a practice run—before the artist made the final miniature. John Smart kept hundreds of these sketches, and this one survived because his daughter gave a sketchbook to a friend. It’s rare to see the rough drafts of these delicate works. If you like this, look up more portraits from England, 18th century.
Although it is impossible to say if it was always part of the artist’s process to execute a preparatory sketch prior to painting each miniature, we do know that John Smart retained many hundreds of these sketches. A group of preparatory sketches—of which this portrait is one—descended through the Smirke family after Smart’s daughter Sarah gave a sketchbook containing preparatory portrait studies to her friend Mary Smirke, sister of the celebrated Victorian architect Sydney Smirke. This book was probably broken up around 1877 when it was divided between Sydney’s daughters Mary Jemmett and Mrs.…
Sketches helped John Smart work out the particulars of a portrait before commencing the miniature on ivory, and they were useful in the event that a duplicate might later be required.
Read the full account in the museum source.
John Smart (1 May 1741 – 1 May 1811) was an English painter who specialised in portrait miniatures. He was a contemporary of Richard Cosway, George Engleheart, William Wood and Richard Crosse.
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