Dictionary Ushakov

Miniature

miniature ra and miniature, miniatures, female(from lat. minium - cinnabar, minium) ( claim.).

1. An inked capital letter or small ink drawing in an old manuscript ( philol.). Manuscript with miniatures.

2. A small picture, the decoration of which is distinguished by thoroughness, subtlety and grace.

| only units, collected Such pictures as a kind of painting. Miniature art.

3. trans. A work of art of small size, small form. Theater of Miniatures. Collection of musical miniatures.

Medieval world in terms, names and titles

Miniature

(from lat. minium - cinnabar, minium) - a small pictorial image, an illustration in a handwritten book. Initial letters or the first lines of medieval manuscripts were written in red paint, so the image in these books began to be called m. During the Middle Ages in Byzantium, as well as in the countries of the West. European book printing has reached great perfection.

Culturology. Dictionary-reference

Miniature

(fr. miniature, lat. minium - cinnabar, minium) - a work of art (usually pictorial) of small size, distinguished by a particularly fine manner of applying colors. Initially, illustrations, initials, headpieces, etc. made in gouache, watercolor and other colors were called miniatures. in handwritten books. The art of book miniature reached a high level of perfection in medieval European, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Iranian and Indian culture. The name "miniature" was also transferred to painting (mainly portrait) of small format, performed on bone, parchment, cardboard, metal, porcelain, often on household items - snuff boxes, watches, rings. The miniature has a place in literature, theatre, music, variety art - the so-called. genre of "small forms". The repertoire of theaters of miniatures is built on the miniature.

Glossary of musical terms

Miniature

(it. miniatura) is a small piece of music. The heyday of the miniature is associated with the work of F. Schubert, F. Mendelssohn, R. Schumann, F. Chopin. The miniature genre is also common in modern music.

Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language (Alabugina)

Miniature

s, and.

1. A small drawing in paints or a painted capital letter in old manuscripts, books.

* The manuscript is decorated with miniatures. *

2. A small painting or portrait of fine workmanship.

* Graceful miniature. *

3. A small piece of literature or music.

* Composition-miniature. Chopin miniatures. *

♦ In miniature. Reduced size.

Design. Glossary of terms

Miniature

MINIATURE (French Miniature, ital. Miniature; from lat. Minium - cinnabar, minium)- in the visual arts: a colored or one-color drawing made on the pages of a handwritten book for the purpose of illustrating text and decoration. In the history of art, the miniature played at times a significant role (the Western European Middle Ages, Byzantium, India, Iran, middle Asia, Azerbaijan). AT Ancient Russia book miniature has been known for a long time. Until the end of the XIV century. it was performed on parchment, mostly with egg paints.

encyclopedic Dictionary

Miniature

(French miniature, from Latin minium - cinnabar, red lead),

1. a work of art (usually pictorial) of small size, characterized by a particularly fine manner of overlaying paints. Initially, miniatures were called illustrations, initials, headpieces, etc. made in gouache, watercolor and other paints in handwritten books. The art of book miniatures reached a high degree of perfection in medieval European, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Iranian and Indian culture. Name "miniature" also switched to painting (mainly portrait) of small format, performed on bone, parchment, cardboard, paper, metal, porcelain, often on household items - snuff boxes, watches, rings. For miniatures on lacquerware, see Artistic lacquers.
2. In literature, theatre, music, circus, on the stage - a genre "small forms", a work of small size (story, play, vaudeville, interlude, sketch, colloquial, choreographic, vocal or musical scene, pop or clown reprise, etc.). The repertoire of theaters of miniatures is based on miniatures.

Ozhegov's dictionary

MINIAT YU RA, s, and.

1. A small drawing in paints in an old manuscript, a book.

2. A small painting of careful and elegant decoration, with a subtle overlay of colors. Miniatures on paper, on porcelain, on bone. Watercolor miniatures.

3. A dramatic or musical work of a small form (eg interlude, sketch, reprise). Theater of Miniatures. Orchestral Miniatures.

4. An elegant piece in a very small size. Book-m.

Postal miniatures pictures, drawings on postage stamps.

In miniature small, reduced size.

| adj. miniature, oh, oh. Miniature painting. miniature technology.

Dictionary of Efremova

Miniature

1. and.
   1. A small drawing or screensaver made in paint, in an old manuscript or book.
   2. :
      1. Painting - painting, portrait, etc. - small size, distinguished by the elegance of the pattern and the thoroughness of the finish.
      2. The type of painting for which such works are characteristic.
   3. :
      1. Genre of small forms (in literature, theater, music, circus, stage).
      2. A product of this genre.

Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Miniature

A name given to colorful pictures, headpieces, curly capital letters, ornate page borders, and generally illustrations of old manuscripts. This name comes from "minium" - red paint (cinnabar or minium), with which ancient calligraphers colored initials and marked headings in their manuscripts. The decoration of manuscripts with drawings was known in ancient times, among the Chinese, Indians, Persians, and other Eastern peoples. The Egyptians also used it very often, from whom many papyrus scrolls with hieroglyphic text and painted figures and ornaments scattered among it have come down to us. However, the art for the first time received the significance of a special artistic branch only among the Greeks. They gave it, along with other fruits of their civilization, to Rome, where, since the time of Augustus, the custom has especially spread to supply luxurious lists of fictional and learned works assigned to noble and wealthy people with polychrome drawings that serve as an explanation of the text. Unfortunately, such illustrated manuscripts relating to the flourishing era of Rome have not survived, and the oldest surviving M., which, for example, are contained in two manuscripts of the works of Virgil (in the Vatican library in Rome) and Homer's Iliad ( in the Ambrosian Library in Milan) belong to the later period of Roman art, III-V centuries. after R. Kh. After Christianity triumphed over paganism, it was natural that M. began to be applied on a large scale to decorate liturgical books, home prayer books, and generally manuscripts of religious and instructive content. At the same time, she remained at first true to the principles and spirit of ancient art; the circle of ideas that gave her content changed, new subjects appeared, the reproduction of which became her vocation, but the nature of her drawing, the methods of composition and the methods of technical execution did not differ significantly from those that M. kept in the last time of paganism. It was especially cultivated in the new capital of the empire, Byzantium, where its success was greatly facilitated by the presence of a magnificent court and the love of splendor and luxury both in high secular society and in the clergy, and where, due to these reasons, the influence of the East and other conditions of local life, it is little little by little, she adopted a peculiar kind, known under the name of Byzantine (see Byzantine art). As samples of early Byzantine manuscripts with M., still close in composition, drawing and manner of execution to works of ancient art, one can point to the parchment scroll of the story of Joshua stored in the Vatican library, belonging to the 7th or 8th century, but in which the illustrations are undeniably the essence copies from M. more distant antiquity, on a fragment of the book of Genesis of the 6th century and the writings of the doctor Dioscorides, 5th-6th centuries, belonging to the Vienna Public Library, and from the later monuments of this kind - on the "Topography" of Cosmas Indikopleustus (VIII-IX centuries; in the Vatican library) , sermons of St. Gregory of Naziansky (IX century; in the Paris library), "Father Menaia" of Emperor Basil II (X-XI centuries; in the Vienna library) and many others.

While art flourished in Byzantium, it was in decline in Italy, sharing in this respect the fate of other branches of art. The illustration of manuscripts in the named country after its conquest by the Lombards for a long time consisted of rude, painted sketches, representing a childishly inept reproduction of distorted early Christian models and motifs, or an equally unskillful imitation of Byzantine drawings. At the beginning of the medieval era, the M. on the other side of the Alps, in Germany, France and Britain, were distinguished by even greater barbarism. The production of manuscripts at that time was carried out mainly in monasteries. The scribe of the manuscript (scriptor) sometimes took upon himself the decoration of his drawings, but more often he left their execution to one of his comrades who was more skilled in this matter and was called an illuminator, a miniator (miniator) or simply a painter (pictor). Having lost the ability to see and reproduce the forms of nature, having almost no idea about the drawing human body , the miniators of the West, in contrast to the Byzantine ones, cared mainly about filling the manuscripts with intricate headlines and initials and relatively rarely dared to depict scenes on plots from the text. Their works, which can thus more rightly be attributed to calligraphy than to painting in the true sense of the word, were generally inelegant, sometimes ugly; but through their savagery in the 7th century a living, fresh element begins to break through, giving rise to a new, completely original style, which soon settled not only in Moscow, but in all the ornamentation of the Romanesque period. This element owes its origin to the Celtic tribe that inhabited Ireland. It appears for the first time, as a folk element, in M. manuscripts produced in the numerous and rich monasteries of this country. From here it passed into the Anglo-Saxon Monks, and from England, through the medium of the Irish monks, it penetrated the mainland of Europe. In the initials and page borders, this Irish and Anglo-Saxon ornamentation is something extremely peculiar and at the same time beautiful; it consists chiefly of pen-drawings, illuminated with various colors, and forming ribbons, curls, crosses, and circles, drawn by a bold and firm hand; curved lines sometimes bend and intertwine with each other so intricately and deftly that one cannot but recognize great talent and skill behind the miniators. Heads of birds and dragons biting each other, or other fantastic animals are often introduced into the play of lines, which, however, are interpreted completely in the nature of the ornament. Deciding to portray the human figure as an ingredient of the initial or as an independent illustration, the miniator looks at his task again from the point of view of an ornamentalist, without the slightest concern for the transfer of nature, as if even with a deliberate distortion of its forms: his faces come out ugly, lifeless, drawn as a calligraphic exercise; the mouth takes the form of a curl with an angle in the middle, pointed downwards; the nose is drawn in the form of a rod, bounded on the sides by straight lines and ending at the bottom with two regular spirals instead of nostrils, etc. The clothes on the figures are also executed without the slightest credibility, with contours and lines of folds that have the character of calligraphic flourishes. The colors in the initials and headpieces are sometimes very successful and beautiful combinations, but in the images of human figures they strike with an extremely strange contradiction with the colors of reality. So, for example, in one of the four gospels of the Saint-Galen monastery (in Switzerland), a colony of Irish monks, the hands of the crucified Savior are made red, and the legs are blue. Of the Irish and Anglo-Saxon manuscripts with M., the most curious, in addition to the above, can be recognized as the Psalter of Blessed Augustine (VI century), stored in the British Museum in London, the Evangelary of St. Kutberg (VII century, in the same museum), a manuscript of the same content in the Trinity College in Dublin (VI or early VII century), the Four Gospels of St. Vilibrod (in the Paris Public Library, early 8th century) and some of the manuscripts of the library of the aforementioned Swiss monastery, which is generally extremely rich in such monuments.

MINIATURE I.

1. From the Vienna Book of Genesis. 2. From an Irish manuscript. 3. From the St. Gallen "Golden Psalter". 4. Curly capital letter of the XII century. 5. From a French manuscript of the 15th century. 6. From an Italian manuscript of the 15th century.

MINIATURE II.

Fig. 1. From an Irish manuscript of the Trinity College in Dublin (Book of Kells), late 6th or early 7th centuries. Fig. 2. From the Otfried Gospel, in the Viennese court library (IX century).

The Irish style, having been transferred to France, Germany and northern Italy, lost many of its sharp features, since in these countries it was not national and next to it, antique traditions and Byzantine models influenced art more than in the British Isles. In the initials and headpieces, the motives of this style in the VIII century begin to change from the admixture of Latin and Byzantine to them, and more and more often appear in manuscripts images of individual figures, for example, evangelists, prophets, the Savior, allegorical personifications of rivers, the sea, etc., and in the 9th century miniatures already boldly take on the reproduction of complex scenes. Under Charlemagne and his immediate successors, M. reaches a significant, for that era, prosperity, thanks to the patronage provided to her by sovereigns, and the reproduction of calligraphic schools (scriptoria) at monasteries. This is evidenced by numerous manuscripts of that time that have come down to us, stored in various libraries. The most important among them are: the gospel made by the painter Godescalc in 781 and known as "Les heures de Charlemagne" (in the Paris Public Library), the gospel of the abbey of St. Medara (ibid.), the so-called Codex aur é us (in the city library of Trier), the Wissobrunian manuscript of the legend of St. Cross (in the Munich court library), the gospel of Lothair I (in the Paris Public Library), the Golden Psalter (in the library of the Saint-Gallen monastery), the Bible of Charles the Bald (in the sacristy of the church of S. Rome) and some others. In the M. of these manuscripts, the ornaments represent a combination of ancient motifs with Irish and Byzantine ones, the initial letters are a confusion of cleverly and tastefully intertwining colored straps and ribbons on a colored or golden field, with the heads of unprecedented birds and animals, with leaves and stems of unseen plants. As for the facial images, we see in them more and more deteriorating antique style and motifs; in the type of some heads, in the greenish background of the body, in the golden shading of the draperies, Byzantine influence is noticeable; the colors and their shading are reminiscent of the late Roman style; the general impression of color is bright-variegated. But the features that distinguish these works from both Byzantine and Irish ones are the great smoothness of lines, mobility, roundness in figures and draperies, liveliness of the composition. Immediately after the death of Charles the Bald (877), the art of M. in France began to decline, but in Germany, into which, in all likelihood, the Lorraine monks of the Metz and Prüm schools brought it, it found strong support in the emperors of the Saxon house and diligent cultivation in monastic workshops specially set up for him. The sacristy of the Guildensge Cathedral, the Bamberg city and court libraries in Munich contain many manuscripts from the time of the Ottons, in terms of abundance and luxury of illustrations they are not inferior to similar monuments of the Carolingian era. In most of these illustrations, the love for the work and the technical skill of the artists are visible, but the drawing of figures is done in them the further, the worse. Only in the XII century is there a turn for the better, indicating a transition from Romanesque to Gothic. Byzantine traditions are not completely forgotten, but to a large extent weaken in the memory of artists, who begin to be guided primarily by their own feeling, their own awakening attraction to nature, to get accustomed to its forms and phenomena, to reproduce it from memory, not daring, however, to directly copy from her. In their drawings, all the faces, with the exception of God the Father, Christ, the Mother of God, the apostles, prophets and patriarchs, whom it is customary to dress in ideal robes from time immemorial, appear in costumes of that time. Figures become elongated, thin, flexible. Their poses are more or less refined, forced, but in general terms natural, bold and not without a kind of grace. Faces acquire a shade of youth and freshness; their expression is sometimes dreamy and sentimental, sometimes smiling and breathing happiness. Clothing tends to outline the shapes of the figures, forms narrow, beautifully breaking folds, falls from the legs and lies near their feet. Instead of the golden background, which had previously surrounded the figures almost constantly, backgrounds are now beginning to become favorite in the form of a chessboard made up of gold and colored squares, or in the form of a carpet with a colorful floral and leafy pattern. Among the manuscripts with M. relating to this transition period from romance to Gothic, the most important is Hortus deliciarum, written by Mother Superior Gerrard von Landsberg in 1159-1175. (unfortunately, lost in 1870 in the fire of the Strasbourg library), the German "Aeneid" by Heinrich von Waldeck, made around 1200 (in the Berlin Public Library), "The Life of Mary", poem by Wehringer Tegersee, 1173 (ibid. ), "Plenary" of Abbess Agnes, 1184-1203. (in the Quedlinburg city library), Godegard of Guildensheim's Evangelary, late 12th century (in the cathedral library in Trier), and some others.

In the early Gothic era, France was again ahead of other countries in terms of miniature painting, and its illustrators of manuscripts or, as they were then called, "enlumineurs" (enlumineurs) were famous everywhere. Their art went hand in hand with learning, the main center of which became Paris. They produced a mass of manuscripts with M., distinguished by a very skillful technique, delicacy and elegance of decoration. Gothic gave certain architectonic basic principles for such works, reflected in them the style of its sculpture; did not remain without influence on them as well as painting on glass, which enjoyed great honor at that time. The most interesting illustrated French manuscripts of this time are considered to be the Psalter, made, it is believed, for King Saint Louis (in the Paris Public Library) and the Book of Hours of the same sovereign (ibid.). In Germany, M. served in the era under consideration a dual purpose - to illustrate not only religious and liturgical books, but also works of a secular nature, such as the works of minnesingers and chivalric novels. When it came to illustrating the gospels, psalters, and prayer books, the imagination of the miniators was, of course, restrained within certain limits of dogmatics and iconographic traditions; but her impulse to freedom found an outlet for itself in the secondary decorations of the manuscripts, what are the headpieces, initials, framing of pages and the religious images themselves. This impulse often led artists to draw fantastic and humorous figures and scenes, completely in the spirit of Gothic ornamental sculpture. M. in religious manuscripts were usually performed with great luxury, gold and colors, while in secular works they were made mainly in the same lines, with a slight shading and sometimes without colors at all. The freshness of their conception and naive spontaneity fully correspond to the nature of the poetry they illustrate. As especially thorough M. of this kind, one can point to the manuscripts of "Tristan" by Gottfried of Strassburg (in the Munich Royal Library) and to the "Weingartner Minnesinger Codex" (in the Württemberg Public Library).

A further and, moreover, a significant step forward is made by M. everywhere at the beginning of the 14th century, when instead of pen drawings, illuminated with paints without proper nuances, real pictures appear, made with a brush and gouache, with the designation of lights, shadows and halftones. The proportions of the figures are still too elongated, and their poses are cutesy; draperies still exaggeratedly convey movement and break with sharp, dry folds characteristic of Gothic sculptures, but the drawing generally becomes more correct, the motifs of the images are more attractive, the color - still very flowery - more harmonious and natural. Artists discard their motley ornamented background and begin (primarily in the Netherlands) to depict events in a room setting, trying to convey the perspective depth of the scene, and then place the action against a blue sky with suitable landscape and architectural settings. The production of manuscripts, ceasing to be an occupation exclusively of monks and monastic workshops, is becoming a very widespread profession of the laity, among which calligraphers and draftsmen appear in large numbers, satisfying the increased demand at the courts of sovereign persons and in high society for luxurious illustrated prayer books and books for reading. In the second half of the 14th century, such masters were especially patronized in France by King Charles V and his brothers, Dukes John of Berry and Philip the Bold of Burgundy. Many magnificent manuscripts come from their collections, which are kept in the Paris Public Library (such as, for example, "Les grandes heures" and the Psalter of Duke John and the so-called "Belleville Missal") and scattered in other book depositories Western Europe. The brilliant successes of painting in general, which marked the 15th century in Italy and the Netherlands, could not remain without influence on M. peer into nature and reproduce its forms and phenomena with possible truth. The choice of subjects for M. and their processing become more diverse and free, not bound by any legends and more clearly reflecting the individuality of the artist; the composition becomes more natural, the drawing - correctness and smoothness, the coloring - proximity to the tones of nature and harmony, and the ornamentation of letters and headpieces - grace and nobility. "Missal" of the Duke of Betford (in the British Museum in London), his Brevari (in the Paris Public Library), "Misal" of the Dukes of Burgundy (in the Royal Library of Brussels), "Chronicle" of Gennegous (ibid), prayer book of Anne of Brittany ( in the Louvre Museum), the Bible of the Hungarian King Matthew Corvinus (in the Vatican Library in Rome) and many other magnificent manuscripts testify to the high state of miniature painting during the 15th century.

The invention of printing dealt M. a severe blow, but did not kill her immediately. When the first woodcut books with pictures were published, such as, for example, the "Bible of the Poor", "Mirror of Salvation", "Ars moriendi", etc., in addition to ordinary copies of these works, a certain number were also published in which multi-type drawings received coloring; expensive books printed on parchment appeared with engravings illustrated so subtly and carefully that it is sometimes difficult at first glance to distinguish them from real M. Moreover, in early printed books, the title page was often painted with paints, and empty spaces were left in the text, on which pictures and ornamented capital letters were then drawn by hand. For a long time, miniature painting supplied the royal and princely libraries with luxurious manuscripts and continued to improve, keeping up with the general progressive movement of the descriptive arts. At the beginning of the 16th century, she already possessed all the technical means available to her, and at this time of her full development, the most excellent of her works appeared, such as, for example, the illustrations of the Breviary by Cardinal Grimani, executed by the Ghent painter G. Gorebout (in the library of St. Mark in Venice), "Missal" by Cardinal Farnese, worked out by G. Clovio (in the Neapolitan library), etc. However, the gradual success of typography, woodcuts and engravings on copper eventually forced M. out of use in books and forced the artists involved in it, to turn their work to other tasks - to the execution of small, finely crafted portraits, pictures on the lids of snuff boxes, decorations on fans, etc. Thus, a special kind of painting arose in the 17th century, borrowing from its predecessor, book illustration, the name "miniature" . Painters who are specially engaged in this branch of art have adopted the epithet of "miniaturists" since that time. Enjoying great honor everywhere, M. attracted outstanding artistic talents until the invention of photography reduced the requirements for her works, and then abolished her almost completely. Among the miniaturists, the following deserved special fame: K. Klingstedt, nicknamed "Snuffbox Raphael" (1657-1734), Arlo from Geneva († in 1688), Italian Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757), J.-B. Masse (1687-1767), Swedish native P. A. Gal (1739-1794), von Blarenberg (born in late XVIII century), Mirbel, nee Lizinskaya (born in 1799), J.-B. Isabey (1767-1855), J.-B.-J. Duchen de Gisard (1770-1855) and some others.

In antiquity, murals were apparently executed using the encaustic method or close to it, but in the Middle Ages, they were painted with paints diluted on egg white, egg yolk, gum or glue, and gilding was carried out using gold leaf or powder of this metal and a brush. The latest M. are written with watercolors, very finely ground paints on smooth or fine-grained, well-glued paper, on specially prepared boards of some dense wood, on enameled metal plates, most often on ivory and parchment. The miniaturist, who is compelled by the delicacy of his work to almost constantly look at it through a magnifying glass, works with a very thin brush, puncturing or shading the solid parts of the image with its tip and using it with the usual technique of gouache painting draperies and the background, and sometimes extending the dotted line to all parts of M .

Wed Aug. comte de Bastard, "Peintures et ornem ents des manuscrits... pour servir à l" histoire des arts du dessin depuis le IV sc. de l "ere chrétienne jusqu" à la fin du XVI sc." (P., 1835 ff.); H. Reuss, "Sammlung d. sch önsten Miniaturen des Mittelalters aus den XIV-XV Jahrhundert" (B., 1867); J.-F. Denis, "Histoire de l" ornamentation des manuscrits "(P., 1847); F. W. Unger, "La miniature irlandaise, son origine et son dé veloppement" (in Revue Celtique, P., 1870); F.H.V. d. Hagen, "Handschriftengem älde und andere bildliche Denkmäler der deutschen D ichter des XII-XIV Jahrhundert" (B., 1853); B. Bucher, "Geschichte der technischen K ü nste" (I vol., Stuttgart, 1875); A. Lecoy de la Marche, "Les manuscrits et la miniature" (one of the volumes of Canten's "Biblioth è que de l" enseignement des beaux-arts ") and so on.

BUT. S-v.

Russian language dictionaries

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The meaning of the word miniature

thumbnail in the crossword dictionary

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

miniature

and miniature, miniatures, w. (from Latin. minium - red lead cinnabar) (art.).

A capital letter painted with colors or a small drawing in colors in an old manuscript (philol.). Manuscript with miniatures.

A small picture, the decoration of which is distinguished by thoroughness, subtlety and grace. ? only units, collected Such pictures as a kind of painting. Miniature art.

trans. A work of art of small size, small form. Theater of Miniatures. Collection of musical miniatures.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova.

miniature

A small drawing in paints in an old manuscript book.

A small painting of careful and elegant decoration, with a subtle overlay of colors. Miniatures on paper, on porcelain, on bone. Watercolor miniatures.

A dramatic or musical work of a small form (eg interlude, sketch, reprise). Theater of Miniatures. Orchestral Miniatures.

An elegant piece in a very small size. Book-m. * Postal miniatures - pictures, drawings on postage stamps. In miniature - in a small form, reduced size.

adj. miniature, th, th. Miniature painting. miniature technology.

New explanatory and derivational dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

miniature

A small drawing or screensaver made in paint, in an old manuscript or book.

1. Painting - painting, portrait, etc. - small size, distinguished by the elegance of the pattern and the thoroughness of the finish.

   The type of painting for which such works are characteristic.

2. Genre of small forms (in literature, theater, music, circus, stage).

   A product of this genre.

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

miniature

MINIATURE (French miniature, from Latin minium - cinnabar, red lead)

a work of art (usually pictorial) of small size, characterized by a particularly fine manner of overlaying paints. Initially, illustrations, initials, headpieces, etc. made in gouache, watercolor, and other colors were called miniatures. in handwritten books. The art of book miniatures reached a high degree of perfection in medieval European, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Iranian and Indian culture. The name "miniature" also passed to painting (mainly portrait) of small format, performed on bone, parchment, cardboard, paper, metal, porcelain, often on household items - snuff boxes, watches, rings. For miniatures on lacquerware, see Art varnishes.

In literature, theater, music, circus, on the stage - the genre of "small forms", a work of small size (story, play, vaudeville, interlude, sketch, colloquial, choreographic, vocal or musical scene, variety or clown reprise, etc. .). The repertoire of theaters of miniatures is based on miniatures.

Miniature

Miniature- in the visual arts, paintings, sculptural and graphic works of small forms, as well as the art of their creation.

Miniature painting is also common in the east. In India, during the Mughal Empire, the Rajasthani miniature became widespread. It was a synthesis of joint creativity of Indian and Persian masters.

Thumbnail (disambiguation)

• Miniature- a work of small form in literature, fine and theatrical art.
• Miniature- genre visual arts.
• Miniature- a genre of fiction.
• Miniature- minifigures intended for collecting or board military-strategic games.
• Miniature- in the computer, a copy of the image reduced to a small size for compact presentation to the user.
• Miniature- in chess and chess composition, a problem or study, in the initial position of which the number of pieces of both sides in total does not exceed seven.

Miniature (chess)

Miniature, in chess and chess composition - a task or study, in the initial position of which the number of pieces of both sides in total does not exceed seven. The name was given in 1902 by the German problemist O. Blumenthal.

If there are no more than five figures in a miniature, it is called baby. Small-figured compositions are popular among chess lovers.

Miniature (film, 1953)

"Miniature"/ also known as "Life in Miniature" (: shukuzu;) is a Japanese drama film directed by Kaneto Shindō in 1953. Screen adaptation of Shusei Tokuda's (1872-1943) novel about a poor shoemaker's daughter who was sold as a geisha. The heroine was lucky enough to redeem herself, but, passing from the hands of one landlord to another, she never manages to escape from the network of obligations that have entangled her.

Examples of the use of the word miniature in the literature.

A thorough study of Georgian literature, monuments of material culture, architecture of ancient monasteries and castles, frescoes, ornaments and miniatures helped the writer to develop a clear idea of ​​the spirit of the times, the material appearance of the era, its people - the characters of her future work: Having mastered all this material, in 1922, when the Antonovsky family moved permanently to Moscow, the writer came to grips with work on the novel.

Disputes about the time of creation of the watch book and its attribution miniatures not completed to this day.

Smetana writes a lot of piano music, especially in the genre miniatures: polka, bagatelle, impromptu.

What was hidden there, in its depths, if on the gondek he found a recreated Island in miniature?

Gurilev's piano work includes dance miniatures and various variation cycles.

Shah Abbas had no doubt that Andukapar would steadfastly look after Persian interests, and Gulshari, reminiscent of miniature Reza Abbasi will unite influential rulers, supporters of Iran, in his darbazi.

The vast musical heritage of Dessau includes the most characteristic genres of modern music: 5 operas, numerous cantata-oratorio works, 2 symphonies, orchestral pieces, music for drama performances, radio shows and films, vocal and choir miniatures.

One cannot, of course, say that our apartment is the Headquarters of the Bureau in miniature: we do not have small-sized atomic bombs, laser pistols, and, well, wands that destroy matter at the molecular level.

Instead of living quietly in a clinic or boarding house, where he was supposed to be due to his physical condition, her elderly but obscenely rich husband set out to build a small building on the back of his property, conceived and executed it as a superbly equipped hospital in miniature and at the same time as an observation post.

From the artist’s conversation with Pyotr Martynovich, Gleb realized that Reshidlin was working in the style of ancient Russian icon painting and miniatures.

Finding for each miniatures his own, individual touch, Couperin creates an infinite number of options for the harpsichord texture - a detailed, airy, openwork fabric.

Almost every political miniature Martti Larni was created in connection with a very specific political event or dedicated to a very specific person.

Koenigsberg, Peter ordered a copy from the Radzivilov Chronicle, including miniatures.

Masterpieces of classical music Russian and foreign orchestral miniature The program includes works by: Brahms, Berlioz, Dvorak, Bizet, Massenet, Gounod, Mascagni, Wagner, I.

Theatricality - the most characteristic feature of Moldobasanov's composer's thinking - manifested itself not only in his ballets, but also in works of other genres - in symphonic and vocal-orchestral works, in chamber-instrumental pieces and vocal miniatures, as well as in the very type of musical dramaturgy.

Miniature

MINIATURE-s; and.[ital. miniatura]

1. A small color drawing in ancient manuscripts, books. View thumbnails.

2. A pictorial work, distinguished by the subtlety of the drawing, the thoroughness of the finish and the small size. Miniatures of the eighteenth century. Palekhskaya m. // collected Such paintings, portraits as a kind of painting. Miniature art.

3. A work of art of small size, small form. Miniatures of the young Chekhov. Schubert miniatures. Theater of Miniatures.

◁ In miniature, in sign. adj. Reduced size. On the example of one family, society is presented in miniature. The entire region is represented in miniature at the festival. Miniature (see).

miniature

(French miniature, from Latin minium - cinnabar, minium), 1) a work of art (usually pictorial) of small size, distinguished by a particularly fine manner of applying colors. Initially, illustrations, initials, headpieces, etc. made in gouache, watercolor and other colors in handwritten books were called miniatures. The art of book miniature reached a high level of perfection in medieval European, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Iranian and Indian culture. The name "miniature" was also transferred to painting (mainly portrait) of small format, performed on bone, parchment, cardboard, paper, metal, porcelain, often on household items - snuff boxes, watches, rings. For miniatures on lacquerware, see Art varnishes. 2) In literature, theatre, music, circus, on the stage - the genre of "small forms", a work of small size (story, play, vaudeville, interlude, sketch, conversational genre, choreographic, vocal or musical scene, variety or clown reprise and etc.). The repertoire of theaters of miniatures is based on miniatures.

MINIATURE

MINIATURE (French miniature, from Latin minium - cinnabar, red lead),
1) a work of art (usually pictorial) of small size, distinguished by a particularly fine manner of applying colors. Initially, miniatures were called illustrations, initials, headpieces, etc. made in gouache, watercolor and other paints in handwritten books. The art of book miniatures reached a high degree of perfection in medieval European, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Iranian and Indian culture. The name "miniature" was also transferred to painting (mainly portrait) of small format, performed on bone, parchment, cardboard, paper, metal, porcelain, often on household items - snuff boxes, watches, rings. For miniatures on lacquerware, see Artistic lacquers (cm. LUCKY ARTISTIC).
2) In literature, theatre, music, circus, on the stage - the genre of "small forms", a work of small size (story, play, vaudeville, interlude, sketch, colloquial, choreographic, vocal or musical scene, pop or clown reprise, etc. d.). The repertoire of theaters of miniatures is based on miniatures.

fr. miniature, lat. minium - cinnabar, minium) - a work of art (usually pictorial) of small size, distinguished by a particularly fine manner of applying colors. Initially, illustrations, initials, headpieces, etc. made in gouache, watercolor and other colors were called miniatures. in handwritten books. The art of book miniature reached a high level of perfection in medieval European, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Iranian and Indian culture. The name "miniature" was also transferred to painting (mainly portrait) of small format, performed on bone, parchment, cardboard, metal, porcelain, often on household items - snuff boxes, watches, rings. The miniature has a place in literature, theatre, music, variety art - the so-called. genre of "small forms". The repertoire of theaters of miniatures is built on the miniature.

Great Definition

Incomplete definition ↓

MINIATURE

from lat. minium - cinnabar, minium) - a genre of fine art, the specificity of which is determined by the subject matter and decorative function; artistic prod. small size, characterized by a richness of decorative forms, textures, techniques, embellishing the object. Artistic M.'s language is determined by its place in the synthesis of book (Book art) or arts and crafts. Expressive features of the artist. the image, the nature of its decorativeness, the pictorial and plastic culture of M. are formed on the basis of the style of national artists. schools, techniques and materials: parchment (special leather processing), varnish, wood, bone, enamel, metal, precious stone. The art of M. has been known since ancient times and developed simultaneously with the artist. book design from the 4th century. (Byzantium, Iran, India, Western Europe, Ancient Russia, Central Asia). The Byzantine tradition of miniature painting marked the beginning of the development of this art in the West. Europe and ancient Russia. M. was created then Ch. arr. in monasteries, played an important role in art. synthesis of temple action. The bright colors, sparkling gold, ornamental richness of lines and patterns created a glow on the surface of the picturesque M., giving the image a special expressiveness. Book M. is characterized by the finest inventive processing of details (“Ostromir Gospel”, “Khludov Psalter”, from Svyatoslav's Izbornik). In the XVII - early XIX in. the subtle manner of writing, techniques that adorned the surface of the M., led to the development of a miniature pictorial portrait, which became an indispensable subject of the aesthetics of everyday life of that era: in the interior of estates, in a costume ensemble (rings, bracelets, brooches). In Russia, enamel portrait art, M. on porcelain, and on various objects of applied art were widely developed. A special line in the development of M. is determined by the so-called. lacquer miniature painting. The homeland of lacquer M. is the Far East, where wood served as its basis. In Iran and India, papier-mâché was used as the basis for lacquer mache. In the XVIII century. lacquer M. from Europe was transferred to Russia (Korobov's factory); Lukutinskaya lacquer M. (XIX century) served as the basis for the modern. M. Fedoskina. After October revolution new centers of miniature painting arose (Palekh, Mstera, etc.). Icon-painting skill, which has long been famous for Russian. master, revived in the decorative system of the plot M. In each center, it has its own stylistic artist. peculiarities.

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

Screensavers and title pages from ancient manuscripts

As dictionaries and encyclopedias tell us, a very 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 made in bright colors. Covers, endpapers and books were also decorated.

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

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

Miniature in the Fedoskino style

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 objects of art 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-mâché products - snuffboxes, thimbles, caskets, 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: 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, distinguished by grace, meticulous execution and extremely small size.

Interesting in this regard are the works of the 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 figures of lovers and a bench smaller than a match head, placed in a surprisingly small transparent container, cannot leave any spectator indifferent.

Miniature books

Even more striking 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 knows the tale of Lefty from early childhood, Yes, Russian masters are masters of all trades!

Literary miniatures

Gradually, the word "miniature" penetrated into other areas of art, for example, into 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.

“She was sitting 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 health, 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 the classic folk tales, such as "Ryaba Hen", "Turnip", "Gingerbread Man", "Terem-Teremok", "Snow Maiden", "Wintering of Animals", "Masha and the Bear", "Three Bears" and others. It is they who make up the golden fund of literature for young children. Toddler books often come in small formats, confirming their affiliation with miniatures - sort of tiny baby books, as they are often called.