Portraiture is arguably one of the hardest genres of art to embrace, conjuring images of domineering, monumental figures frowning down from inside heavy gilt frames. Portraitists need to work hard to dispel the indictment of "boring" with which their art is often stamped. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, in their latest exhibition, is clearly trying to do just that by offering a lighter side to historical portraiture – smaller, more intimate works from the Georgian and Regency periods.

The exhibition is cleverly and compactly organised into sections by theme, opening with a display of works which portray the artists' families and close friends. Included in this section are paintings by famous artists of the period such as Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. It is here that the reasoning behind The Intimate Portrait shines through, for smaller works allow more scope for expression, wit and emotion. Some of the works on display are downright experimental in style; free from the financial and patronage constraints of much larger, grander portraits, the artists relax and allow their affection for the sitters to colour every brush or pen stroke.

The show also features a display around the subject of celebrity, which in the 18th century included public figures from scientists to aristocratic hostesses, along with the expected spate of actors, writers and nobility. Of particular interest here is the inclusion of two portraits by Alfred Edward Chalon of a young Queen Victoria and her mother, which encapsulate the celebrity style of the period – small and easily digestible, flattering and affectionate. After the delightful small portraits in the first two-thirds of the exhibition, however, I found my interest waning slightly. Inclusion of pastel portraits – most of which formed the main body of last year's Painting in Crayons exhibition – is understandable, but the works suffer slightly in comparison to their smaller and more interesting counterparts.

Overall, there is little to fault with this exhibition. It is perhaps not the most cutting-edge and is certainly not life-changing; nevertheless, The Intimate Portrait provides a relaxed and informative look at its subject – as lightly entertaining as the works it displays.