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Unlike fragile portrait miniatures painted in watercolor on vellum or ivory, which are prone to cracking, fading, and flaking, enamels are resilient, impervious to the effects of light, and retain their striking original colors over time. Partly for this reason enamel was considered ideal for reproducing famous paintings and treasured portraits in a reduced and luminous form. The complicated and labor-intensive process of enameling required the artist to fire numerous layers of colored metal oxide at different temperatures. This process made it difficult to produce a faithful portrait likeness, though masters of the medium like Jacques Thouron were able create portraits of remarkable subtlety imbued with the sitter's personality.

Page data

Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
17ff45c54c24a80d
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
103821
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "103821",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Portrait of Étienne François, comte de Stainville, duc de Choiseul",
    "description": "Unlike fragile portrait miniatures painted in watercolor on vellum or ivory, which are prone to cracking, fading, and flaking, enamels are resilient, impervious to the effects of light, and retain their striking original colors over time. Partly for this reason enamel was considered ideal for reproducing famous paintings and treasured portraits in a reduced and luminous form. The complicated and labor-intensive process of enameling required the artist to fire numerous layers of colored metal oxide at different temperatures. This process made it difficult to produce a faithful portrait likeness, though masters of the medium like Jacques Thouron were able create portraits of remarkable subtlety imbued with the sitter's personality.",
    "date": "mid to late 1700s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1921.912",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79509078"
    ],
    "creators": [
        2576
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Portrait Miniature"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.912/1921.912_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.912/1921.912_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.912/1921.912_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.); Diameter of frame: 8.4 cm (3 5/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Switzerland"
    ],
    "accession": "1921.912"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "103821",
    "label": "Portrait of Étienne François, comte de Stainville, duc de Choiseul",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "103821",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Portrait of Étienne François, comte de Stainville, duc de Choiseul",
    "description": "Unlike fragile portrait miniatures painted in watercolor on vellum or ivory, which are prone to cracking, fading, and flaking, enamels are resilient, impervious to the effects of light, and retain their striking original colors over time. Partly for this reason enamel was considered ideal for reproducing famous paintings and treasured portraits in a reduced and luminous form. The complicated and labor-intensive process of enameling required the artist to fire numerous layers of colored metal oxide at different temperatures. This process made it difficult to produce a faithful portrait likeness, though masters of the medium like Jacques Thouron were able create portraits of remarkable subtlety imbued with the sitter's personality.",
    "date": "mid to late 1700s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1921.912",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79509078"
    ],
    "creators": [
        2576
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Portrait Miniature"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.912/1921.912_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.912/1921.912_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.912/1921.912_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Diameter: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.); Diameter of frame: 8.4 cm (3 5/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Switzerland"
    ],
    "accession": "1921.912"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "enamel in a gilt metal and enamel frame",
    "tombstone": "Portrait of Étienne François, comte de Stainville, duc de Choiseul, mid to late 1700s. Jacques Thouron (Swiss, 1740–1789). Enamel in a gilt metal and enamel frame; diameter: 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.); diameter of frame: 8.4 cm (3 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade, 1921.912",
    "collection": "P - French 18th Century",
    "inscriptions": [
        {
            "inscription": "signed right: Thouron"
        }
    ],
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "\"Accessions.\" <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 8, no. 9 (1921): 138-41.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned: p. 139",
            "url": "http://www.jstor.org/stable/25136519"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1921.912",
    "creditline": "Gift of J. H. Wade",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 05:36:09.163000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.912/1921.912_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 103821,
    "dept": "European Painting and Sculpture",
    "coll": "P - French 18th Century",
    "med": "enamel in a gilt metal and enamel frame",
    "creatorTags": [
        "male"
    ],
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
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    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1921.912/1921.912_web.jpg",
    "mediaId": "17ff45c54c24a80d"
}