Marisas miniatures
The art of miniature painting
is rare today.
Discover the extraordinary story of the miniature painter
Marisa Schmitt-Viassone.
Marisa Viassone started painting miniatures in 1955 in Italy/Florence. She worked as a professional artist until 1963, when an eye complaint brought her career to an abrupt end. 30 years later, the numerous miniature portraits she had produced for an art dealer in the USA, a coincidence triggered a scandal in the American art collectors scene.
After false Bolívar portraits were discovered in 1993, art and antique collectors in America had their pieces checked for authenticity. Collectors and museums suddenly owned forgeries. Marisa Viassone had copied 120 pieces in good faith for her client, without knowing that he regularly sold them on the art market as originals. By 2002, 11 supposed originals had turned up.
The long procedure from the preliminary sketch, via the „lucido“, to the fine details on ivory – you can see here how exactly Marisa Schmitt-Viassone produced her miniatures. She learned the classical technique from the master Lionello Lascialfari in Italy/Florence.
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