Miniature is always a challenge, just like monumentalism! Both require their own special skills and techniques, but also a certain personality. A miniature focuses attention. Here, the talent and skill must be shown through a special prism, sometimes even through a magnifying glass. The history of miniature art dates back to the wunderkammer (German for camera of wonders) and the kunstkammer (camera of art). Collecting and contemplating miniature art turns into a special ritual, gaining deep cultural contexts. There are several ways to approach miniature art.
The first is a special intimacy. A connoisseur of this format can assemble a real museum collection - a collection of works by prominent authors. Create a special interior scenography. After all, works of this format are often marked with a special design or form - from the intricacy and preciousness of the frame, self-sufficiency or value of the work itself. The originality of the miniature turns it into a special treasure for collecting.
The second is skill. A connoisseur of miniature art knows perfectly well that not every artist is able to accept the challenge of the miniature format, let alone emerge victorious. The materials and techniques used to create works sometimes dictate their own stylistic features and principles. To reveal your talent in miniature, you need to have the talent of a jeweler. The detailed design of details in a miniature format takes the artist to unusual and even extreme conditions for creativity.
The third is the material of creation. Painting and sculpture do not always lend themselves to focusing in the framework of a miniature. Here, graphics are more appropriate. However, canvas, paper, wood, bronze, glass, structural paste, oil, tempera can also show themselves from unexpected angles.
The fourth dimension is the thematic genre. What to depict to keep the viewer's attention in a miniature format? That's why this art is balancing on the edge of something extraordinary, like an artistic acrobatic “trick” - shoeing a flea or putting an elephant through the eye of a needle. There are no restrictions on the subject matter for the miniature genre - landscape, still life, genre scene, nude, portrait - all of them feel great and familiar in this format.