cabinet picture

noun

1. a small easel painting, usually under 3 feet (0.9 meters) in width and formerly exhibited in a cabinet or special room.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cabinet picture¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

To cite one: An exquisite, jam-packed little cabinet picture by Joachim Wtewael, the eccentric Dutch Mannerist, shows the Roman myth of Venus cuckolding Vulcan with Mars, an indiscretion exposed by Mercury.

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While at Oxford the cabinet picture has taken deep root, and has grown into a strong and vigorous article of demand, it is a well-known fact that at Cambridge it is “sicklied o‘er with the pale cast of thought,” and languishes on in a state trembling between life and death.

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I know how much has been done by launching them fearlessly on the sea of public patronage in several localities, and I feel certain the demand would be much more general if the cabinet picture were judiciously introduced.

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Each tale is in fact a cabinet picture, combining history and landscape.

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Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert, by A. Woodside, is a cabinet picture which would be regarded as good beside any of the many great productions which illustrate the same subject.

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