Small Things of Great Beauty: Fra Bonaventura Bisi and Italian miniature painting in the 17th century

What did it mean to be—as Fra Bonaventura Bisi was—a painter of miniatures in Baroque Italy? And how did miniaturists differ from painters who worked in oil on canvas or in fresco?  This lecture will provide an overview of Italian Baroque miniature painting, including its materials and technique, its development from the art of manuscript illumination, its range of subject matter, and its status as a distinct art form.

This lecture will be presented by Sarah Cartwright, Chief Curator and Ulla R. Searing Curator of Collections, The Ringling.