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In comparison to paintings depicting moral issues or historical scenes, portraits and landscapes were considered of lesser value at the beginning of the 19th century. However, with the emergence of the French artist Jean-Baptiste Isabey and the English portraitist Thomas Lawrence, miniature portraits painted on ivory and on parchment paper soon became fashionable in Vienna. The Transylvanian artist Sámuel Kiss attended the Academy in Vienna, where he learned the technique of painting miniatures. After returning home in 1813, he became a teacher in the town of Debrecen where, besides writing essays on the theory of drawing and architecture, he also produced portraits.
The Portrait of the Mayor of Brassó, copied in 1805 after a painting, shows one of the former mayors of the town holding the scroll outlining the new plans of Brassó in his hand. In respect of their functions, these miniature portraits were the predecessors of photographs. This depiction, with its daring use of yellow and crimson, is a fine example of the genre.
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