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Join us for a talk with award-winning artist Sofia Mitsola and Dr Rebecca Birrell, Assistant Keeper of Paintings, Drawings and Prints at the Fitzwilliam Museum.

In this online talk we will explore Sofia’s House of Aquamarina display of miniature paintings in The Portland Collection. This includes contemporary miniatures created by Sofia as well as 30 historic pieces of art. The result is an exciting combination of history and myth, with likenesses of real figures shown alongside imaginary characters.

In this discussion, Sofia and Rebecca will explain the historic traditions of miniature portraits. How they were created, when they first appeared, and the purposes they served in communicating themes such as loyalty, friendship and love. They will then set out the ways in which Sofia used historic techniques in her modern interpretations. In particular, Sofia will draw attention to the process she used in order to create the artwork on show, as well as explaining the imagined history she has invented for her characters, in order to set them within the traditions of the past.

Sofia and Rebecca will then end the talk by considering the tiny treasures as a group, both new and old, and consider what these small, portable portraits can tell us about people and their relationships.

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