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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, which made it difficult to produce a faithful portrait likeness, though masters of the medium were able create portraits of remarkable subtlety imbued with the sitter's personality. The heyday of enamel painting was the late 1600s and early 1700s. Among the enamel specialists was Petitot, who was patronized by King Charles I of England, King Louis XIV of France, and King John III Sobieski of Poland.

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Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
cf82c4c8f4eacdcc
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
121282
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "121282",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Portrait of a Woman",
    "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, which made it difficult to produce a faithful portrait likeness, though masters of the medium were able create portraits of remarkable subtlety imbued with the sitter's personality. The heyday of enamel painting was the late 1600s and early 1700s. Among the enamel specialists was Petitot, who was patronized by King Charles I of England, King Louis XIV of France, and King John III Sobieski of Poland.",
    "date": "c. 1670",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.1152",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q80017086"
    ],
    "creators": [
        3688
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Portrait Miniature"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1152/1942.1152_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1152/1942.1152_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1152/1942.1152_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Framed: 2.9 x 2.2 cm (1 1/8 x 7/8 in.); Unframed: 2.3 x 2.1 cm (7/8 x 13/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "France, 17th century"
    ],
    "accession": "1942.1152"
}

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Document identity
{
    "localId": "121282",
    "label": "Portrait of a Woman",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "121282",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Portrait of a Woman",
    "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, which made it difficult to produce a faithful portrait likeness, though masters of the medium were able create portraits of remarkable subtlety imbued with the sitter's personality. The heyday of enamel painting was the late 1600s and early 1700s. Among the enamel specialists was Petitot, who was patronized by King Charles I of England, King Louis XIV of France, and King John III Sobieski of Poland.",
    "date": "c. 1670",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.1152",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q80017086"
    ],
    "creators": [
        3688
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Portrait Miniature"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1152/1942.1152_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1152/1942.1152_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1152/1942.1152_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Framed: 2.9 x 2.2 cm (1 1/8 x 7/8 in.); Unframed: 2.3 x 2.1 cm (7/8 x 13/16 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "France, 17th century"
    ],
    "accession": "1942.1152"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "enamel in a silver gilt frame",
    "tombstone": "Portrait of a Woman, c. 1670. Jean Petitot (Swiss, 1607–1691). Enamel in a silver gilt frame; framed: 2.9 x 2.2 cm (1 1/8 x 7/8 in.); unframed: 2.3 x 2.1 cm (7/8 x 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Edward B. Greene Collection, 1942.1152",
    "collection": "P - French 17th Century",
    "inscriptions": [
        {
            "inscription": "inscribed on back of frame: \"La Duchess de Chatillon by Petitot from the Hawkins Sale 1904\""
        }
    ],
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Cleveland Museum of Art, and Edward Belden Greene. Portrait Miniatures ; <em>The Edward B. Greene Collection.</em> 1951.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned: p. 36, cat. 75, p. 20; Reproduced: plate XXVI",
            "url": "https://archive.org/details/PortraitMiniatures"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.1152",
    "creditline": "The Edward B. Greene Collection",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 06:14:53.499000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1152/1942.1152_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 121282,
    "dept": "European Painting and Sculpture",
    "coll": "P - French 17th Century",
    "med": "enamel in a silver gilt frame",
    "creatorTags": [
        "male"
    ],
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
{
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    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1942.1152/1942.1152_web.jpg",
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