Thomas Witter 1781 - 1791

John Ramage painted this miniature portrait of Thomas Witter with watercolor on ivory. The portrait miniature, popular since the 16th century, captures the essence of the sitter and, in this case, reveals the social standing of the subject through details of dress. Consider the neckcloth. Its evolution from simple necessity to a symbol of status echoes through time. In ancient Rome, a similar cloth signaled military rank, later becoming a symbol of clerical status. Its reappearance in secular portraiture, as here, marks the rise of a new elite. The portrait miniature embodies our deep-seated need to preserve memory, an echo of ancient funerary masks. Like the masks that preserved the likeness of the deceased, the miniature allows us to hold onto the image of the living. This continuous thread demonstrates our enduring psychological need to transcend mortality through visual representation. The cycle continues.