John Smart

1741 – 1811

English painter, one of the leading miniaturists of his period. His style was meticulous, bright, and pretty. He worked mainly in London, but was in India 1785-96. He was a pupil of Cosway, and is frequently alluded to in his correspondence. However, his work is entirely different to that of Cosway, quiet and grey in its colouring, with the flesh tints elaborated with much subtlety and modelled in exquisite fashion. He possessed a great knowledge of anatomy, and his portraits are drawn with greater anatomical accuracy and possess more distinction than those of any miniature painter of his time.

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