Silhouette

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Silhouettes" redirects here. For other uses of "Silhouette" or "Silhouettes", see Silhouette
(disambiguation).

A traditional silhouette portrait of the late 18th century-Scherenschnitt (Silhouette) von Ferdinand
Ernst von Waldstein in Ludwig van Beethovens Stammbuch

The only known contemporary depiction of Martha Jefferson, wife of Thomas Jefferson.

Goethe facing a grave monument, cut paper, 1780

Silhouettes of Catherine (1741-1807), Elisabeth (1743-1782), Peter (1745-1798), and Alexander of

Brunswick-Luneburg-Wolfenbuttel (1746-1787). The Danish State Archives.
A silhouette is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single
color, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is
featureless, and the whole is typically presented on a light background, usually white, or none at all. The
silhouette differs from an outline, which depicts the edge of an object in a linear form, while a silhouette
appears as a solid shape. Silhouette images may be created in any visual artistic media,[1] but was first
used to describe pieces of cut paper, which were then stuck to a backing in a contrasting colour, and
often framed.
Cutting portraits, generally in profile, from black card became popular in the mid-18th century, though
the term silhouette was seldom used until the early decades of the 19th century, and the tradition has
continued under this name into the 21st century. They represented a cheap but effective alternative to
the portrait miniature, and skilled specialist artists could cut a high-quality bust portrait, by far the most
common style, in a matter of minutes, working purely by eye. Other artists, especially from about 1790,
drew an outline on paper, then painted it in, which could be equally quick.
From its original graphic meaning, the term silhouette has been extended to describe the sight or
representation of a person, object or scene that is backlit, and appears dark against a lighter
background. Anything that appears this way, for example, a figure standing backlit in a doorway, may be
described as "in silhouette". Because a silhouette emphasises the outline, the word has also been used
in the fields of fashion and fitness to describe the shape of a person's body or the shape created by
wearing clothing of a particular style or period.

Contents
[hide]

1Etymology and origins

2History
o

2.1Mythological origins

2.2Profile portraits

2.3Rise of popularity and development in the nineteenth century

2.4Maintaining the tradition

3The silhouette in art, media and illustrations

3.1Shadow theatre

3.2Movies

3.3Architecture

3.4Photography

3.5In graphic design

4Other uses

4.1Fashion and fitness

4.2Identification

4.3Military usage

4.4Journalism

4.5Firearm targets

4.5.1Human silhouette targets

4.5.2Metallic silhouette targets

5Silhouette images

6Recent photographic images

7See also

8References

9Bibliography

10Film

11External links

Etymology and origins[edit]

The word silhouette is derived from the name of tienne de Silhouette, a French finance minister who, in
1759, was forced by France's credit crisis during the Seven Years' War to impose severe economic
demands upon the French people, particularly the wealthy.[2] Because of de Silhouette's austere
economies, his name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply and so with these
outline portraits.[3][4] Prior to the advent of photography, silhouette profiles cut from black card were the
cheapest way of recording a person's appearance.[5][6]
The term silhouette, although existing from the 18th century, was not applied to the art of portrait-making
until the 19th century. In the 18th and early 19th century, profiles or shades as they were called were
made by one of three methods:
1. painted on ivory, plaster, paper, card, or in reverse on glass;
2. hollow-cut where the negative image was traced and then cut away from light colored paper
which was then laid atop a dark background; and
3. cut and paste where the figure was cut out of dark paper (usually free-hand) and then pasted
onto a light background.[1]

History[edit]

Vase by the Nessos Painter. The scene on the neck shows Heracles stabbing Nessos. The scene
on the belly shows events associated with Perseus. C. 620610 BC, now in the Athens National
Archaeological Museum

Mythological origins[edit]
The silhouette is closely tied in mythology to the origins of art. Pliny the Elder, in his Natural
History (circa 7779 AD) Books XXXIV and XXXV, recounts the origin of painting. In Chapter 5 of Book
XXXV, he writes,
We have no certain knowledge as to the commencement of the art of painting, nor does this enquiry fall
under our consideration. The Egyptians assert that it was invented among themselves, six thousand
years before it passed into Greece; a vain boast, it is very evident. As to the Greeks, some say that it
was invented at Sicyon, others at Corinth; but they all agree that it originated in tracing lines round the
human shadow [...omnes umbra hominis lineis circumducta].. In Chapter 15, he tells the story of
Butades of Corinth:
Butades, a potter of Sicyon, was the first who invented, at Corinth, the art of modelling portraits
in the earth which he used in his trade. It was through his daughter that he made the discovery;
who, being deeply in love with a young man about to depart on a long journey, traced the profile
of his face, as thrown upon the wall by the light of the lamp [umbram ex facie eius ad lucernam
in pariete lineis circumscripsit]. Upon seeing this, her father filled in the outline, by compressing

clay upon the surface, and so made a face in relief, which he then hardened by fire along with
other articles of pottery.
In accord with the myth, Greek Black-figure pottery painting,[7] also known as the black-figure
style or black-figure ceramic (Greek, , melanomorpha, common between the
7th and 5th centuries BC) employs the silhouette and characteristic profile views of figures and
objects on pottery forms. The pots themselves exhibit strong forms in outline that are indicators
of their purpose, as well as being decorative.[8]

Profile portraits[edit]
Portrait

The traditional method of making a silhouette portrait

S. John Ross, Sydney Royal Easter Show, c. 2004

Anonymous American Artist, "Mister Bethany and Patience Wright," 18th century. Private
collection
For the depiction of portraits, the profile image has marked advantage over a full-face image in
many circumstances, because it depends strongly upon the proportions and relationship of the
bony structures of the face (the forehead, nose and chin) making the image is clear and simple. For
this reason profile portraits have been employed on coinage since the Roman era. The early
Renaissance period saw a fashion for painted profile portraits and people such as Federico da
Montefeltro and Ludovico Sforza were depicted in profile portraits. The profile portrait is strongly
linked to the silhouette.
Recent research at Stanford University indicates that where previous studies of face recognition
have been based on frontal views, studies with silhouettes show humans are able to extract
accurate information about gender and age from the silhouette alone.[9] This is an important concept
for artists who design characters for visual media, because the silhouette is the most immediately
recognisable and identifiable shape of the character.[10]

Rise of popularity and development in the nineteenth century[edit]

Drawing a Silhouette by Johann Rudolph Schellenberg (17401806)

A silhouette portrait can be painted or drawn. However, the traditional method of creating silhouette
portraits is to cut them from lightweight black cardboard, and mount them on a pale (usually white)
background. This was the work of specialist artists, often working out of booths at fairs or markets,
whose trade competed with that of the more expensive miniaturistspatronised by the wealthy. A
traditional silhouette portrait artist would cut the likeness of a person, freehand, within a few
minutes.[11] Some modern silhouette artists also make silhouette portraits from photographs of
people taken in profile.[5]
The work of the physiognomist Johann Caspar Lavater, who used silhouettes to analyse facial
types, is thought to have promoted the art.[12] The 18th century silhouette artist August Edouart cut
thousands of portraits in duplicate. His subjects included French and British nobility and US
presidents. Much of his personal collection was lost in a shipwreck.[13] In England, the best known
silhouette artist, a painter not a cutter, was John Miers, who travelled and worked in different cities,
but had a studio on the Strand in London.[14] He advertised "three minute sittings",[15] and the cost
might be as low as half a crown around 1800. Miers' superior products could be in grisaille, with
delicate highlights added in gold or yellow, and some examples might be painted on various
backings, including gesso, glass or ivory.[16] The size was normally small, with many designed to fit
into a locket, but otherwise a bust some 3 to 5 inches high was typical, with half- or full-length
portraits proportionately larger.

Illustration

A traditional paper-cut illustration by Wilhelm Gross

White on black by Hans Christian Andersen.

In America, silhouettes were highly popular from about 1790 to 1840.
The physionotrace apparatus invented by Frenchman Gilles-Louis Chrtien in 1783-84 facilitated
the production of silhouette portraits by deploying the mechanics of the pantograph to transmit the

tracing (via an eyepiece) of the subject's profile silhouette to a needle moving on

an engraving plate, from which multiple portrait copies could be printed.[17][18] The invention of
photography signaled the end of the silhouette as a widespread form of portraiture.[5]

Maintaining the tradition[edit]

The skill was not lost, and travelling silhouette artists continued to work at state fairs into the 20th
century. The popularity of the silhouette portrait is being reborn in a new generation of people who
appreciate the silhouette as a nostalgic way of capturing a significant occasion. In the United States
silhouette artists have websites advertising their services at weddings and other such functions.[5] In
England there is an active group of silhouette artists.[11][19] In Australia, S. John Ross plied his
scissors at agricultural shows for 60 years until his death in 2008.[20] Other artists such as Douglas
Carpenter produce silhouette images using pen and ink.[21]

The silhouette in art, media and illustrations[edit]

Since the late 18th century, silhouette artists have also made small scenes cut from card and
mounted on a contrasting background like the portraits. These pictures, known as "paper cuts",
were often, but not necessarily, silhouette images.[22] Among 19th century artists to work in this way
was the author Hans Christian Andersen.[23] The modern artist Robert Ryan creates intricate images
by this technique, sometimes using them to produce silk-screen prints.[24]
In the late 19th and early 20th century several illustrators employed designs of similar appearance
for making book illustrations. Silhouette pictures could easily be printed by blocks that were cheaper
to produce and longer lasting than detailed black and white illustrations.
Silhouette pictures sometimes appear in books of the early 20th century in conjunction with colour
plates. (The colour plates were expensive to produce and each one was glued into the book by
hand.) Illustrators who produced silhouette pictures at this time include Arthur
Rackham and William Heath Robinson. In breaking with literal realism, artists of the Vorticist,
Futurist and Cubist[25][26] movements employed the silhouette. Illustrators of the late 20th century to
work in silhouette include Jan Pienkowski and Jan Ormerod. In the early 1970s, French
artist Philippe Derome uses the black cut silhouette in his portraits of black people. In the 21st
century, American artist Kara Walker develops this use of silhouette to present racial issues in
confronting images.[27]

Shadow theatre[edit]
Originating in the orient with traditions such as the shadow theatres of Indonesia, the shadow
play became a popular entertainment in Paris during the 18th and 19th century. In the Paris of the
late 19th century, the shadow theatre was particularly associated with the cabaret Le Chat
Noir where Henri Rivire was the designer.[28]

Movies[edit]
Since their pioneering use by Lotte Reiniger in silent films, silhouettes have been used for a variety
of iconic, graphic, emotional, or conversely for distancing, effects in many movies. These include
many of the opening credit sequences of the James Bond films. The opening sequence of the
television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents features a silhouetted profile of Alfred
Hitchcock stepping into a caricatured outline of himself, and in his movie Psycho the killer in the
shower scene manifests as a terrifying silhouette. A scene from E.T. showing the central characters
on a flying bicycle silhouetted against the full moon became a well-known movie poster. Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 contains an animated sequence in silhouette illustrating a
short story The Tale of the Three Brothers that is embedded in the film. The sequence was
produced by Ben Hibon for Framestore, with artwork by Alexis Lidell.
Silhouettes have also been used by recording artists in music videos. One example is the video for
"Buttons" by The Pussycat Dolls, in which Nicole Scherzinger is seen in silhouette. Michael

Jackson used his own distinctive silhouette both on stage and in videos such as "You Rock My
World". Early iPod commercials portrayed silhouetted dancers wearing an iPod and earbuds.
The cult television program, Mystery Science Theater 3000 features the three main characters of
the series watching a movie as silhouettes at the bottom of the screen.

Theatre, film and photography

Shadow theatre designed by Henri Rivire for Le Chat Noir

Scene from the film noir, The Big Combo(1955) filmed by John Alton

Band of Brothers, US soldiers silhouetted against a sunset sky.

Architecture[edit]
The discipline of architecture that studies the shadows cast by or upon buildings is
called Sciography.
The play of shadows upon buildings was very much in vogue a thousand years ago as evidenced
by the surviving examples of "mukarnas" art where the shadows of 3 dimensional ornamentation
with stone masonry around the entrance of mosques form pictures. As outright pictures were

avoided in Islam, tessellations and calligraphic pictures were allowed, "accidental" silhouettes are a
creative alternative.[29][30]

Photography[edit]

Silhouette of St. Peter's Basilica at sundown (view from Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome).

Mountain side silhouette at Twilightin the Mojave Desert.

Silhouette of Toy seller at Shanghumugham beach, Kerala, India

Silhouette of Greater racket-tailed drongo

Many photographers use the technique of photographing people, objects or landscape elements
against the light, to achieve an image in silhouette. The background light might be natural, such as
a cloudy or open sky, mist or fog, sunset or an open doorway (a technique known as contre-jour), or
it might be contrived in a studio; see low-key lighting. Silhouetting requires that the exposure be
adjusted so that there is no detail (underexposure) within the desired silhouette element, and
overexposure for the background to render it bright; so a lighting ratio of 16:1 or greater is the ideal.
The Zone System[31] was an aid to film photographers in achieving the required exposure ratios.
High contrast film, adjustment of film development,[32] and/or high contrast photographic paper may
be used in chemical-based photography to enhance the effect in the darkroom.[33] With digital
processing the contrast may be enhanced through the manipulation of the contrast curve for the
image.[34]

In graphic design[edit]
In media the term "to silhouette" is used for the process of separating or masking a portion of an
image (such as the background) so that it does not show. Traditionally silhouettes have often been
used in advertising, particularly in poster design, because they can be cheaply and effectively
printed.

Advertising

An advertisement for James Whitcomb Riley's business, 1871

Poster for Palais der Friedrichstadt c. 1920

Poster for the Festival of Calanchi, San Marino, by Bradipone (2008)

Other uses[edit]

The fashionable silhouette of 1900

Fashion and fitness[edit]

The word "silhouette", because it implies the outline of a form, has been used in both fashion and
fitness to describe the outline shape of the body from a particular angle, as altered by clothing in
fashion usage, and clothed or unclothed where fitness is concerned, (e.g. a usage applied here by
the Powerhouse Museum. Advertising for both these fields urges people, women in particular, to
achieve a particular appearance, either by corsetry, diet or exercise. The term was in use in
advertising by the early 20th century. Many gyms and fitness studios use the word "silhouette"
either in their name or in their advertising.[35]
Historians of costume also use the term when describing the effect achieved by the clothes of
different periods, so that they might describe and compare the silhouette of the 1860s with that of
the other decades of the 19th century. A desirable silhouette could be influenced by many factors.
The invention of crinoline steel influenced the silhouette of women in the 1850s and 60s. The
posture of the Princess Alexandra influenced the silhouette of English women in the Edwardian
period. See advertisement left.

Identification[edit]
Because silhouettes give a very clear image, they are often used in any field where the speedy
identification of an object is necessary. Silhouettes have a many practical applications. They are
used for traffic signs (see pic below). They are used to identify towns or countries with silhouettes of
monuments or maps. They are used to identify natural objects such as trees, insects and
dinosaurs. They are used in forensic science.[36]

Military usage[edit]

Silhouette of an aircraft
Main articles: Aircraft recognition and Jane's Fighting Ships
Silhouettes of ships, planes, tanks, and other military vehicles are used by soldiers and sailors for
learning to identify different craft.

Journalism[edit]
For interviews, some individuals choose to be videotaped in silhouette to mask their facial features
and protect their anonymity, typically accompanied by a dubbed voice. This is done when the
individuals may be endangered if it is known they were interviewed.

Firearm targets[edit]
Human silhouette targets[edit]
Human silhouette targets are use for military, police and civilian firearms training.

NATO E-type Silhouette Target

Human silhouette target

A digital target range at the firearms training simulator on Kunsan Air Base waits to
be used.

Swiss military targets

Metallic silhouette targets[edit]

Metallic silhouette is a popular outdoor shooting sport using either rifles or handguns. In metallic
silhouette shooting only knock down steel targets featuring animals are used.

Metallic silhouettetargets featuring a chicken, pig, turkey and ram, scaled to appear as
they would if placed at the correct distances from the shooter. Scale in minutes of angle,
correct for NRA high power rifle using yards.

Silhouette images[edit]

A traditional silhouette image of Jane Austen, 18th century

Beethoven as a boy, finely cut with details of hair and clothing, 18th century

The Mudflap girl is a common modern image on car mudflaps

Silhouette image representing human evolution

Traffic signs often use silhouettes. This sign warns that the road crosses a railway line.

The flag of Cyprusshows a map of the country in silhouette form. Countries are often
identified by silhouette maps.

A silhouette of the Statue of Liberty in New York. Monuments are often identified by their
silhouettes.

St. Peter's Basilica at sundown (view from Castel Sant'Angelo)

Recent photographic images[edit]

Rumination

Below Bethesda Terrace

Relaxing at a Japanese temple

Barack and Michelle Obama watching fireworks

Walpurgis night

Lined up for sunset

The Silent

Sunset at al Masjid al-Nabawi

Still water at dusk

Cambodia at sunset

See also[edit]

Osborne bull

Silhouette artists

References[edit]
1.

2.

^ Jump up to:a b McClard, Peggy. "History of Silhouette". History of Silhouette.

www.PeggyMcClard.com. Retrieved September 12,2011.
Jump up^ McLynn pp. 6465

3.

Jump up^ Teall, Gardner (Aug 1916). "Silhouettes Old and New". House &
Garden. 30: 20.

4.

Jump up^ There is no mention of de Silhouette making silhouettes in his earliest

record in 1834 edition Biographie universelle ou dictionnaire historique contenant la
ncrologie des hommes clbres Volume 5. Furne, 1834. P. 2850

5.

^ Jump up to:a b c d Custom Silhouette Pictures by Karl Johnson, accessed

November 2, 2008.

6.

Jump up^ The family name Silhouette is a French form of a Basquesurname,

Ziloeta; Arnaud de Silhouette, tienne's father, was from Biarritz in the French
Basque Country; this surname, whose Standard Basque or Batua form is Zuloeta,
contains the suffix -eta "abundance of" and zilo, Batua zulo, "hole".

7.

Jump up^ R. M. Cook (1976). Review of John Boardman 'Athenian Black Figure
Vases: A Handbook.' The Classical Review (New Series), 26, pp 253-253.
doi:10.1017/S0009840X00248610.

8.

Jump up^ Trendall, A. D. (Arthur Dale Trendall) & National Gallery of Victoria
(1966). Greek vases in the Felton Collection. Oxford University Press, Melbourne ;
New York

9.

Jump up^ Science Daily, accessed November 2, 2008.

10.

Jump up^ Good design lies in the foundation, accessed August 18, 2009.

11.

^ Jump up to:a b Roving Artists Classic portraits

12.

Jump up^ Lavater, accessed November 2, 2008.

13.

Jump up^ August Edward, accessed November 2, 2008.

14.

Jump up^ John Miers, accessed November 2, 2008, V&A biography

15.

Jump up^ brereton.org.uk, Printed advertisement on back of a miniature

16.

Jump up^ museum "Silhouettes"

17.

Jump up^ Freund, Gisle (1974), Photographie et socit, ditions du Seuil, p.

8-18, retrieved 18 April 2016

18.

Jump up^ Cromer 'Le secret du physoniotrace Bulletin de la socit

archologique, historique et artistique, Le Vieux Papier,' 26th year, October 1925

19.

Jump up^ Artist brings talent to The Woodlands shop, Houston Chronicle

20.

Jump up^ The Silhouette Man, accessed November 2, 2008.

21.

Jump up^ Silhouette artist, accessed November 2, 2008.

22.

Jump up^ Traditional European paper cuts are different in this regard to
traditional Oriental paper cuts which are often made of several layers of brightly
coloured and patterned paper, and have many formal decorative elements such as
flower petals.

23.

24.

Jump up^ Hans Christian Andersen's Paper Cuts in the Royal Library, accessed
November 2, 2008.
Jump up^ Mister Rob Ryan, accessed November 2, 2008.

25.

Jump up^ Robbin, T. (2008). Shadows of reality: the fourth dimension in

relativity, cubism, and modern thought. The Mathematical Intelligencer, 30(1), 74-75.

26.

Jump up^ "Collection Online | Man Ray. Silhouette. 1916 - Guggenheim

Museum". guggenheim.org. Retrieved March 21, 2016.

27.

Jump up^ Knipe, P. (2002). Paper profiles: American portrait silhouettes. Journal
of the American Institute for Conservation, 41(3), 203-223.

28.

Jump up^ Le Cabaret du Chat Noir (18811897), Muse d'Orsay, Paris, 1992

29.

Jump up^ google.no, Nide Alaaddin Mosque where a Chiaroscuro drawing of a

woman's face with crown and long hair appears at a specific time of the year.

30.

Jump up^ fotogaleri.haberler.com, Divrii Great Mosque and Hospitalwith the

silhouette of a praying man that appears over the entrance door of the mosque part
and changes pose as the sun moves.

31.

Jump up^ Adams, Ansel & Baker, Robert (1995). The camera (1st pbk. ed).
Little, Brown, Boston

32.

Jump up^ Adams, Ansel & Baker, Robert (1981). The negative (1st ed). New
York Graphic Society, Boston

33.

Jump up^ Adams, Ansel & Baker, Robert (2003). The print. Little, Brown and
Company, Boston

34.

Jump up^ Evening, Martin (2015). Adobe Photoshop CC for photographers : a

professional image editor's guide to the creative use of Photoshop for the Macintosh
and PC (2nd edition). Burlington, MA, USA Focal Press

35.

Jump up^ There are over 1,800,000 mentions of the word "silhouette" in
conjunction with "fitness" online. There are many "Silhouette Fitness" studios and
gymnasiums, e.g. in Halifax, in Bendigo, in Switzerland etc

36.

Jump up^ Forensic entomology, accessed November 3, 2008.

Bibliography[edit]

Coke, Desmond (1913). The Art of Silhouette. London: Martin Secker.

Jackson, Emily (1911). The History of Silhouettes. London: The Connoisseur.

Knipe, Penley (2002). "Paper Profiles: American Portrait Silhouettes". Journal of the American
Institute for Conservation. 44 (3): 203223.

McKechnie, Sue (1978). British Silhouette Artists and their Work, 17601860. London: Sotheby
Parke Bernet. ISBN 0856670367.

McLynn, Frank (2005) [2004]. 1759:The Year Britain Became Master of the World. London:
Pimlico. ISBN 9780712694186.

Orr, Inge C. (1974). "Puppet Theater in Asia". Asian Folklore Studies. 33 (1): 6984.

Roe, F. Gordon (1970). Women in Profile: A Study in Silhouette. London: John

Baker. ISBN 978-0-212-98364-3.

Rutherford, Emma (2009). Silhouette: The Art of the Shadow. New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 978-08478-3077-0.

Stoichit, Victor (1997). A Short History of the Shadow. Essays in Art & Culture. London:
Reaktion. ISBN 978-1-86189-000-9.

Sedda, Julia (2014). "Silhouettes: the fashionable paper portrait miniature around 1800". In
Pappe, Bernd; Schmieglitz-Otten, Juliane; Walczak, Gerrit. European Portrait Miniatures:
artists, functions and collections. Petersberg: Michael Imhof Verlag. pp. 179185. ISBN 978-386568-969-6.

Sedda, Julia (2009). "Reading circles, crafts, and flower arranging: everyday items in the
silhouettes of Luise Duttenhofer (17761829)". In Goggin, Maureen Daly; Tobin, Beth
Fowkes. Women and Things, 17501950: gendered material strategies. Farnham:
Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-6550-2.

Film[edit]

Reiniger, Lotte: Homage to the Inventor of the Silhouette Film. Dir. Katja Raganelli. DVD.
Milestone Film, 1999.

External links[edit]
WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoSilhouettes.

GAP Guild of American Papercutters

"Silhouettes". Paintings & Drawings. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved August 21, 2007.

Profile Likenesses of the Executive and Legislature of Georgia (Silhouette Book), by William H.
Brown, 1855 from the collection of the Georgia Archives.

Kara Walker's A Horrible Beautiful Beast

Kara Walker's 2007 Whitney Exhibit

Andersen, Jens (2002). "Scissor Writing". Det Kongelige Bibliotek. Retrieved 22

November 2016.

Ingersoll, Julia (2003). "Wayang Kulit: the Ancient Shadow Plays of Bali". Gamelan Tunas
Mekar. Retrieved 22 November 2016.