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Silhouettes
Miniature portraits had been the rage of aristocracy whom had worn portraits as jewelry since at least the 15th century. But for 300 years, the expense required for a full color likeness to be commissioned had restricted the availability to the wealthy and kept the ordinary person from acquiring a portable likeness of their loved ones. In the late 18th century, shade portraits became popular with the masses because it represented a cheaper alternative to full color portraits. Although the black profile was made popular by the masses, its popularity soon reached across income levels back to the aristocracy. Wealthy patrons commissioned silhouettes to be painted and encrusted with precious stones in jewelry and snuff boxes. Royalty commissioned porcelain dinner services with silhouettes. Common folk filled albums with silhouette likenesses of family and friends. Originally called "Profile Shades" or "Shadows" in England, the French coined the term à la Silhouette as a derogatory reference to Louis XV's former French Minister of Finance, Ètienne de Silhouette, who was considered a cheapskate. When de Silhouette left his government position, he reputedly retired to a farmhouse which he decorated with home-made paper cuttings. In the 19th century, the great master silhouettist, Augustin Edouart, felt that the term "shade" was derogatory to his art and began using the term "silhouettist" to describe himself. The term became popular and carried forward to today. Antique silhouettes may be found in 4 general forms: (1) Painted on paper, card, vellum, ivory, silk, or porcelain; (2) Painted in reverse on glass; (3) Hollow cut, usually with the aid of a machine but, very rarely, by hand. In this process the figure is cut away from the paper thereby leaving a negative image. The paper outline is then backed with a contrasting color of paper or fabric; (4) Cut freehand with scissors or knives and then pasted to a contrasting (usually light-colored) background (cut & paste). Early 18th century profiles were all black, taking their form from the solid black shadow of the unadorned individual. Towards the end of the 18th century, artists began to distinguish their works with the barest of bronzing. As the 19th century progressed, the audience demanded more elaborate decoration and the artists obliged with embellishment that became more prominent, depicting jewelry, lace collars, and elaborate hairstyles. In America especially, a group of mostly unidentified artists cut wonderfully naive hollow cut profiles atop painted or lithographed stock bodies. On both sides of the ocean, artists of the 19th century sometimes applied their cut or painted silhouettes on lithograph or watercolor backgrounds which bring even more attention to the regal simplicity of the shade portrait itself.
The heyday of silhouette cutting in America was 1780-1855. Antique silhouettes are fun to collect and display. You might focus your collection on silhouettes of a certain type (i.e. hollow cut heads with painted bodies), of a certain origin (i.e. American-cut), a particular artist (i.e. Edouart or Master Hubard), or of one type of sitter (children are especially popular, or perhaps ladies with large hair combs). I suggest you read as much as you can about silhouettes and look at many at antique shows and museums. Many legitimate reproductions of 19th century silhouettes were made in the 1930s. Now that those 20th century silhouettes have some age, they are often sold as 19th century. A collector needs to learn the tell-tale signs of reproduction silhouettes and the subtle differences between 19th and 20th century paper.
The best books about antique silhouettes are out of print but can be found through used booksellers. Visit www.peggymcclard.com for a list of recommended books and more information about silhouettes.
The heyday of silhouette cutting in America was 1780-1855. Antique silhouettes are fun to collect and display. You might focus your collection on silhouettes of a certain type (i.e. hollow cut heads with painted bodies), of a certain origin (i.e. American-cut), a particular artist (i.e. Edouart or Master Hubard), or of one type of sitter (children are especially popular, or perhaps ladies with large hair combs). I suggest you read as much as you can about silhouettes and look at many at antique shows and museums. Many legitimate reproductions of 19th century silhouettes were made in the 1930s. Now that those 20th century silhouettes have some age, they are often sold as 19th century. A collector needs to learn the tell-tale signs of reproduction silhouettes and the subtle differences between 19th and 20th century paper.
The best books about antique silhouettes are out of print but can be found through used booksellers. Visit www.peggymcclard.com for a list of recommended books and more information about silhouettes.
peggysantiques |
Latest page update: made by peggysantiques
, Aug 4 2008, 3:24 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
Most of the text is from my website at History of Silhouettes.
- peggysantiques
605 words added view changes - complete history) |
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More Info: links to this page
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Edouart Baldwin 3821 02 crop 96 px.jpg (JPEG Image - 51k)
posted by peggysantiques Aug 4 2008, 3:28 PM EDT
Silhouette by Edouart
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