THE PORTRAIT MINIATURE: A NEW HISTORY

BOOK PRESENTATION & CONVERSATION

With Damiët Schneeweisz and Rosalind McKever
Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Portrait miniatures, identity, remembrance and the women who shaped the genre.

Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo presents The Portrait Miniature: A New History, the new V&A publication by Damiët Schneeweisz, Rosalind McKever and Adriana Concin, published by Thames & Hudson.

DATE
20 October 2026

LOCATION
Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo
Palazzo Valier, Venice

About the Event

Small enough to be held in the hand, worn close to the body or exchanged as a token of love and remembrance, the portrait miniature occupies a distinctive place between painting, object and intimate possession.

The Portrait Miniature: A New History traces the development of the genre from its fifteenth-century origins to the early twentieth century, bringing together art, fashion, society, identity and representation.

Extending beyond the traditional narratives of miniature painting, the publication explores the genre’s global reach and restores women to their place in its history, revealing their important role in its artistic and cultural development.

The Venice presentation at Palazzo Valier places this new research in dialogue with Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo’s collection and its ongoing investigation into portrait miniatures as intimate objects of identity, affection and remembrance.

About the Speakers

Damiët Schneeweisz is Assistant Curator of Paintings and Drawings at the Victoria and Albert Museum and a specialist in early modern European and American art and empire.

Rosalind McKever is Curator of Paintings and Drawings at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She specialises in modern European art, its reception in Britain and the Americas, and its relationship with fashion and design.

Together with Adriana Concin, Research Fellow and former Assistant Curator of Paintings and Drawings at the Victoria and Albert Museum, they are the authors of The Portrait Miniature: A New History.

About the Publication

The Portrait Miniature: A New History
Damiët Schneeweisz, Rosalind McKever and Adriana Concin
Published by Thames & Hudson in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum
240 pages · 216 colour illustrations · Hardcover
2026

Event Information

Date: 20 October 2026
Location: Fondazione Maddalena Di Giacomo, Palazzo Valier, San Polo 1022, Venice
Capacity: Limited
Booking: Reservation required

Admission includes: Book presentation, and admission to La Nota Mancante