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

Talking about what a miniature is, you need to look into the distant past.

Screensavers and title pages from ancient manuscript books

As dictionaries and encyclopedias tell us, for a long time, when there was no printed matter yet, and the gospel and lives of saints corresponded by hand, these handwritten books were decorated with illustrations, headers and images of capital letters, made with bright colors. The same was decorated with covers, booklets and title pages of books.

From the Latin root minium, which was translated as "cinnabar, stinker" - red paint - there was a word miniature, denoting bright small-scale pictures. Before the contemporaries came those first miniatures, which today are monuments of history.

An example of an answer to the question of what a miniature in ancient times is is the screensaver from the Ostrimi Gospel of 1057 - this is one of the oldest books that have survived to us.

Miniature in Fedoskino style

Gradually there was a transfer of the meaning of the word to the size of the object. Today, when asked about what a miniature is, everyone will say that it is something very small, but beautiful. And it happened because of the fact that in the 18th century a variety of art objects began appearing, having extremely small dimensions, but executed with special care, subtlety and grace.

For example, in the village of Fedoskino merchant Korobov organized a peak production in 1795. A few years later, impressed by the visit of the factory in Braunschweig Johann Stobwasser, Korobov is reorganizing its production. Now here they begin to produce small items made from papier-mache - snuffboxes, thimbles, caskets, beads, which are decorated with engravings, paintings and varnished.

In those years the answer to the question "what is a miniature" was: "Small, elegantly painted pictures." Fedoskino painting was very appreciated in past centuries. It depicted on it plots from the village life: harnessed horses, tea parties, folk festivals and festivities, romantic dates. A group of talented artists are now following the traditions of the style of the Fedoskino painting, and the miniature continues to be created, delighting and admiring the 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, careful 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 tyrannosaur, tiny figures of lovers and a Viking ship, a bench that is smaller than a match-head, placed in a surprisingly small transparent container, can not leave any spectator indifferent.

Miniature Books

Even more amazing are the tiny books that are made by the real craftsmen. Something to read in them is possible only when using a very strong magnifying glass. Some books fit in a nutshell, others are stored in rings for rings.

Actually, what's there to be surprised when everyone from early childhood is familiar with the tale of the Left-hander, who shod the flea! Yes, Russian masters - all hands of the master!

Literary miniatures

Gradually, the word "miniature" has penetrated into other areas of art, for example, music and literature. By the same criteria - a small form, grace and thoroughness of performance - many works have come to be called miniatures.

Short stories, laconic in volume, but extremely capacious in content, are called literary miniatures. Often in miniatures there is almost no action, but there is only a sketch, a picture. But, using the capacity of images, comparisons, epithets, the author in several phrases creates an entire human destiny.

"She was sitting alone on a bench, and cold trickles of rain dripped down her cheeks. There, in the house, music sounded, young people, full of strength and health, people had fun, people. One of them was her son ...

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

Tales-miniatures

A special place in the literature is occupied by tales of small volume, they are also called miniatures. Usually these are tales for the youngest, because it is still difficult for them to listen and understand a major work. These include classical folk tales, such as "Ryabka Kuroka", "Repka", "Kolobok", "Terem-Teremok", "Snow Maiden", "Winter of Beasts", "Mashenka and the Bear", "Three Bears" and others. They make up the golden fund of literature for the youngest children. Books for toddlers often come in a small format, confirming their belonging to miniatures - sort of tiny little books, as they are often called.