A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SILHOUETTE

Portrait silhouettes became all the rage in fashionable English Society of the Georgian period, when they were known as “shades.” The earliest professional silhouettists were portrait miniaturists, seeking a less- expensive product. Shades were popular as mementos, intended to be given away, and rapidly became an integral part of Georgian society. During Regency times there was an increasing mechanisation of the art, in line with a general enthusiasm for all things modern and scientific. Many artists made use of camera obscura as well as other weird, quixotic, mechanical contraptions. The aim was to capture a likeness automatically - without relying on the skill of a “mere artisan” - a search which eventually culminated in the invention of photography. As shades became cheaper and quicker to make their popularity spread to the New World, where itinerant silhouettists captured some of the only known likenesses of leading settlers in America, using a device known as a physiognotrace. In Britain, the Victorian era saw a rapid decline in the art (contrary to the common perception of silhouettes as a Victorian art). Shades were seen as “old hat” and An Georgian shade, c.1780, fashionable society flocked to painted by John Miers of photographer’s studios instead (many of Strand, London which were run by former silhouettists!) The most notable exception was August Edouart, a French refugee who took up the art to support his large family. He later sailed to America, where he is credited as being the “father of silhouette,” being the first artist there to work exclusively with freehand cutting. His work is highly sought after today, fetching enormous sums at auction, and is featured in the TV documentary “Silhouette Secrets.” Silhouettes experienced a revival between the wars. Nostalgia for a pre-war, pre-technological age gave freehand scissors artists the opportunity they needed to refine their craft. Dai Vernon, the founder of modern close-up magic, made his living for many years as a street silhouettist in major cities all over America. His style is typical of many artists of his age. Today most people never meet a silhouettist, unless they come across Charles Burns (or one of A full length cutting by his colleagues) at a corporate event, or perhaps August Edouart, 1842 visit Disneyland where they seem still popular. www.roving-artist.com Top: painted silhouette by Phelps A signed silhouette by c.1780. Covent Garden, London Dai Vernon, 1931, USA