Name/Title
Portrait SilhouetteContext
This full-length portrait of a lady wearing a long dress with bustle is a “silhouette” or “profile”.
The fashion for profiles grew when the archaeological discoveries of ancient Roman sites at Herculaneum and Pompeii encouraged a taste for Neo-classicism. Profiles became even more fashionable around 1775, when the Swiss scholar Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801) published his essays on physiognomy illustrated with numerous black silhouettes. In his publications he claimed that one could assess someone’s character by analyzing the outer appearance, and especially the face. According to Lavater, this analysis would reveal both virtues and vices of a person.
The art of silhouettes was named after the French finance minister Etienne de Silhouette. Stories vary but some claim that the minister was notorious for wasting his time on this popular hobby, while other sources attest that his name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply since he imposed severe economic demands upon the French people in 1759.
To provide novelty to clients and stand out from competitors, more elaborate variations on the simple cut profile were created. By the 1790s, the profiles were painted on paper, ivory, plaster or even glass. Using ivory as a support, on which they painted in watercolor, they also borrowed a popular method from miniature painting. Due to the desire for novelty and the rising cost of materials, the prices of silhouettes inevitably increased.
This silhouette of an unknown lady is painted on the under-surface of flat glass and framed against a plaster background.Acquisition
Accession
nd.099Source or Donor
UnknownAcquisition Method
Gift