Marvels in Miniature

Claire Saul learns about the exquisite works on display at a new exhibition being held at a historic Georgian mansion

- Claire Saul

The 20th century marked a period of change for many aristocratic houses and estates, often accelerated by the effects of war and economic decline. Financial pressures forced Richard Verney, the 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke, to sell the Warwickshire family seat, Compton Verney, in 1921. It would pass through a succession of owners before being purchased in 1993 by the Peter Moores Foundation, which embarked on a £45m programme of restoration to convert the Grade I-listed house into an art gallery and visitor centre. It opened 20 years ago, with the aim of connecting people with art, nature and creativity.

Compton Verney can boast several important and diverse collections, one of which is its noted portraits and miniatures.

Current exhibition The Reflected Self draws upon this collection to look at the history of miniature painting, with particular focus on its "golden age", which spanned three centuries from the mid16th century. Additional loans from the Dumas Egerton Trust Collection and private lenders combine to showcase around 150 miniatures in an exhibition which is full of revelations, the first surprising fact relating to the origin of this exquisite form of art.

"The word 'miniature' originally didn't refer to the size of these objects, it came from the Latin minium which is the red pigment that was used in manuscript illumination," explains Oli McCall, senior curator at Compton Verney Art Gallery and Park, who cocurated the exhibition with art historian Emma Rutherford. "The tools and the techniques that early miniature painters were using descended from manuscript illumination. The early form of the miniature, with the portrait appearing in a circular roundel with an amazing, ultramarine background - it's almost as if it has been lifted from the page.