June, 1 913 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



221 



Old Time 

 Silhouettes 



By Arthur S. Vernay 

 Photographs by T. C. Turner 



CURIOUS revival seems to be taking place 

 in "shadowgraphy" — that long-neglected art 

 which was so fashionable in mid-Victorian 

 days — and "silhouettes" and "profilists" (as 

 some prefer to be called) are springing up 

 everywhere. Doubtless many of these pres- 



ent-day artists are clever and orig- 

 inal, but somehow their shadow- 

 work seems to lack the charm and 

 wistfulness of the older masters. 

 True, not all the silhouettes of by- 

 gone days are things of beauty — 

 some, if the truth be told, being 

 more than a trifle crude — but even 

 the least artistic possess a rare 

 charm from "associations" and the 

 reflection that the originals have 

 themselves passed into shadow- 

 land. 



For many years now I have col- 

 lected silhouettes and the doing so 

 has given me an infinite amount of 

 pleasure. There is no member of 

 my shadow family — and they num- 

 ber many hundreds — that I do not 

 seem to know personally in an al- 

 together familiar and delightful 

 way and about whom I have not, 

 at some time or other, woven a ro- 

 mantic history. That, indeed, is 

 the great charm of the silhouette — 

 and its irresistible personal appeal. 



Who was it origi- 

 nated the first sha- 

 dow-picture ? No one 

 can tell for no one 

 really knows. Leg- 

 ends regarding 

 Etruscan maids out- 

 lining their lovers' 

 shadows and similar 

 stories are numerous 

 but who believes 

 them ? We do know, 

 however, that the 

 earliest artists 

 in monochrome prac- 

 ticed shadowgraphy 

 — or "skiagraphy," 

 as they called it — and 

 it is therefore not im- 

 probable that Clean- 

 thes of Corrinth or 



Philocles of Egypt may have originated the first silhouette. 

 The origin of the name "silhouette" is easier to trace. 

 Etienne de Silhouette was French Minister of Finance at 

 the close of the war in 1759, and through the reforms which 

 he introduced to enable the country to recover from its 

 financial embarrassments the people were called upon to 



practice many economies. With a 

 strong hand he endeavored to put 

 down all extravagance and even 

 the artists, in order to support de 

 Silhouette's policy ironically agreed 

 to make their portraits in outline 

 only. When France found her 

 financial feet again all de Silhou- 

 ette's economies vanished as 

 quickly as. they had come — all but 

 the outline portrait which survived 

 under the name of "Silhouette." 

 This, most authorities are agreed 

 upon, is the genesis of the name 

 given to the shadow portrait 

 though it is not, of course, sug- 

 gested that it was in de Silhouette's 

 time that this style of portrait origi- 

 nated. 



The character of the Silhouette 

 gives a good indication of its date. 

 That of 1720, for instance, is dis- 

 tinguished by having the portrait 

 cut out of white paper and re- 

 moved, leaving the margins, which 

 were laid on a background of thin 

 black wood or paper. 

 About 1750, came 

 the portrait painted 

 in black on white 

 paper. Among these 

 may be found full- 

 length groups or 

 what were known 

 as "conversation 

 pieces" — the profiles 

 showing much artistic 

 minuteness while 

 much elaboration is 

 found in the head- 

 dresses — d e 1 i c a t e 

 lace-work, floral 

 decorations, etc. To 

 this period also be- 

 longs the real Silhou- 

 ette as we understand 

 Silhouette portraits of Miss Connell and Miss Barton of Cheltenham it ,to-day — black pro- 



Silhouette portrait of Ludwig Wolfgang von Goethe. 



This is painted on glass and is embellished in the most 



elaborate manner 



