Eye
1904
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1904
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Eye is a 1904 unspecified by Unknown, a American Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a single human eye, painted small enough to hold in your palm. The iris is a soft brown, the lashes fine and dark. These "eye miniatures" were love tokens in the 1800s. The giver and receiver knew whose eye it was, but no one else did. That secrecy makes them feel personal, like a whispered promise. Most were painted in Europe, but this one was made in America. Look up *The Cleveland Museum of Art* to see more tiny, mysterious portraits.
Eye miniatures were popular in Europe between 1790 and 1830. Only in a few extraordinary cases do we know whose eyes were painted. Their limited scope makes it almost impossible to identify the artist, though we know that many famous miniaturists painted eye portraits including John Smart, Richard Cosway, and George Engleheart. Because the artist and the sitter could be known only to the person who commissioned or received the object, these eyes are distinguished from miniatures and portraits for their private significance and mystery. There are six eye miniatures in the Cleveland Museum of…
Read the full account in the museum source.
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