Quite unique, really - I've collected portrait miniatures and art, portraits for many decades, and this is the only one done in this very difficult art method. "Eglomise" is the French word for back-painted glass. This portrait is painted on the back side of a convex panel of glass. A very handsome young boy in an outdoor setting, landscape, along with his dog. What's incredible about this artistic method is, one paints exactly opposite the usual, laying down the furthermost front color first, then the next behind it, always working from the backside. An intellectual challenge for even the most visually astute of artists, and nothing at all like being able to work over and back into a painting as it develops before you. One must reverse perception. As a small child, I had a great-uncle, born in Switzerland, who was an artist and he did wonderful landscapes and also painted flowers in reverse or "eglomise" working front to back to create the petals. I spent fascinated hours watching him paint those. I will say, I have never found another done in this manner - perhaps they didn't last (you can see a bit of the paint has flaked at bottom of his jacket, and at certain angles of light, one sees an unusual glare from the paint). But this one not only survived, it is a masterpiece of this type of artwork. Housed in its original oval wood frame (very slight warp, lying it flat - see images), a broad dore bronze mat. Frame is large, 11" tall and 9 1/2" widest. I find it amazing this artist achieved such control in this eglomise method!
Very good to excellent condition for age and type. Mid-1800s painting done on the backside of the convex glass - incredibly difficult method. You can see there is some flaking to the paint, most at his midsection or waist of his vest. Beautifully preserved frame and broad elegant dore bronze mat, all signs of very high quality in their time. The wood frame has a slight warp to it (view photo) only noticeable from lying flat, not so much hanging. No breaks in the glass. Sealed from the back side, not an original seal, I believe. It seems as though someone has done a little restoration to the area I mentioned. I have not opened the seal at all in the many years I've owned this one.
