What is a miniature? Where did this definition come from and what development has it received in the modern world

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Speaking of what a miniature is, it is necessary to look into the distant past.

Intros and title pages from ancient manuscripts

As dictionaries and encyclopedias tell us, a long time ago, when there was no printing yet, and the gospel and the lives of the saints were copied by hand, these handwritten books were decorated with illustrations, headpieces and images of capital letters made in bright colors. Covers, endpapers and title pages of books were also decorated.

From the Latin root minium, which translated as "cinnabar, minium" - red paint - came the word miniature, denoting bright small-scale pictures. The first miniatures that today are historical monuments have reached contemporaries.

An example of the answer to the question of what a miniature was in antiquity is the intro from the Ostromir Gospel of 1057 - this is one of the oldest books that have come down to us.

Miniature in Fedoskinskystyle

Gradually there was a transfer of the meaning of the word according to the size of the object. Today, when asked what a miniature is, everyone will answer that it is something very small, but beautiful. And this happened due to the fact that in the 18th century a variety of art objects began to appear, having extremely small sizes, but made with special care, subtlety and grace.

For example, in the village of Fedoskino, the merchant Korobov organized a visor production in 1795. A few years later, impressed by a visit to the factory of Johann Stobwasser in Braunschweig, Korobov reorganized his production. Now they are starting to produce small papier-mache products - snuffboxes, thimbles, jewelry boxes, beads, which are decorated with engravings, paintings and varnished.

During these years, the answer to the question "what is a miniature" was answered: "Small, elegantly painted pictures." Fedoskino painting was highly valued in past centuries. Scenes from rural life were depicted on it: harnessed horses, tea parties, folk festivals and festivities, romantic dates. A group of talented artists still observe the traditions of the Fedoskino painting style, and the miniature continues to be created, delighting and delighting connoisseurs of fine art.

Sculptures in tiny bottles

So, the meaning of the word miniature today is a work of any kind of art, characterized by grace, meticulous workmanship and extremely small size.

Interesting inThis plan is the work of Japanese sculptor Akinobu Izumu, who surprises the world with his unsurpassed talented miniature sculptures in tiny bottles.

In a transparent cone 22 mm high and 12 mm wide, Akinobu manages to embody the whole world! A tiny bicycle and a skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex, tiny figurines of lovers and a Viking ship, a bench smaller than a match head, placed in a surprisingly small transparent container, cannot leave any spectator indifferent.

Miniature books

More amazing are the tiny books that are made by real craftsmen. You can read something in them only when using a very strong magnifying glass. Some books fit in walnut shells, others are kept in ring boxes.

Actually, what is there to be surprised when everyone from early childhood is familiar with the tale of Lefty, who shod a flea! Yes, Russian masters are jacks of all trades!

Literary miniatures

Gradually, the word "miniature" penetrated into other areas of art, such as music and literature. According to the same criteria - small form, elegance and thoroughness of execution - many works began to be called miniatures.

Short stories, concise in volume, but extremely capacious in content, are called literary miniatures. Often in miniatures there is practically no action, but there is only a sketch, a picture. But, using the capacity of images, comparisons, epithets, the author creates a whole human destiny with a few phrases.

Shesat alone on a bench, with cold streams of rain trickling down her cheeks. There, in the house, music sounded, young people, full of strength and he alth, had fun. One of them was her son…

People in the house sang and danced, drank wine and ate hot fragrant chicken. And she sat alone on the bench - she had no place in their circle. Cold trickles of rain flowed down her cheeks, and an evil wind drove a lonely dry leaf along the road … The same lonely and useless now …"

Fairy tale miniatures

A special place in literature is occupied by fairy tales of small volume, they are also called miniatures. Usually these are fairy tales for the little ones, because it is still difficult for them to listen to and understand a large work. These include classic folk tales, such as "Ryaba the Hen", "Turnip", "Gingerbread Man", "Terem-Teremok", "Snow Maiden", "Wintering of Animals", "Mashenka and the Bear", "Three Bears" and others. It is they who make up the golden fund of literature for young children. Toddler books are often small in size, confirming that they are miniatures-little baby books, as they are often called.