THE MINIATURES

Here the scale shrinks to the size of a hand, and the demands only grow. A miniature leaves a painter nowhere to hide, since every surface, every highlight, every fold has to be exact at a fraction of the usual size. Painting small is one of the oldest tests of skill, the art of the manuscript illuminator and the portrait painter, and it suits a fine painter like Wiedijk perfectly. These little panels carry the same precision as his larger work, pressed into a jewel-like format you are meant to come close to. They reward the eye that leans in, because the whole pleasure of a miniature is that the closer you look, the more there is to find.