“Small or moderate-size painting executed at an easel. Renaissance artists began painting easel pictures to meet the demand of collectors, and they were often displayed on easels. They became immensely popular when the middle class in 17th-century France and Holland began to collect art. Also called cabinet picture.”
Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.
Mark's Text Terminal 