For centuries tourists have wandered the great art museums of Europe and wanted to take home their favorite paintings. Now we do so with digital photos on our iPhones, but long ago a lot of artists made a living doing miniatures of those famous paintings and selling them as souvenirs. Mostly we see them from the 19th century, but this particularly fine one is from a bit over 100 years ago, c.1922, and was done by an artist in Florence. The backing appears to be vellum and the painting is just exceptional - compare it to the original full-size painting by 18th century French Romantic Era artist, John-Baptist GREUZE, (1725-1805), who painted The 2 Friends. I've included a photo of the original 39" x 31.8" oil painting - it's quite incredibly well-reproduced in gouache *water-based paint) on this small plaque. Beautifully framed under light-gathering convex rectangular heavy cover glass. The painting is just 4" x 3"! Full measurements noted on photos.
Very good to excellent condition for age and type, an exceptional miniature after a famous work of art. Nicely framed and in a dore bronze mat and under a very fine cover glass, convex in rectangular form, pulls light into the aperture. No chips, no cracks or breaks and no losses, the material has very slightly shrunk so fills the aperture barely, can slide and expose edge, needs to be secured I think. The handwritten backing is written by the artist of this copy, exceptionally talented, as well.
