No.

I wondered how long that would take

The art of silhouette cutting originated in Europe in the early 1700's. Prior to the French revolution, silhouettists were hired as an amusement for the royal class. The featured artist would attend the many extravagant balls and cut out the distinguished profiles of the Lords and Ladies capturing the latest fashions and elaborate wigs.



While the aristocrats were having their silhouettes cut out and eating like kings much of Europe was starving, especially in France. In the 1760's the Finance Minister of France, Etienne de Silhouette, had crippled the French people with his merciless tax polices. Oblivious to his people's plight, Etienne was much more interested in his hobby of cutting out paper profiles, the latest fad. Etienne de Silhouette was so despised by the people of France that in protest the peasant s wore only black mimicking his black paper cutouts. The saying went all over France,"We are dressing a la Silhouette. We are shadows, too poor to wear color. We are Silhouettes!" To this very day the black profile cutouts are called silhouettes. Thankfully, the negative connotation no longer remains.



The art of silhouette cutting reached its "golden age" in the 1800's. Many European silhouettists immigrated and became very famous and rich, catering to the American politicians and very wealthy. Others traveled to county fairs and small towns capturing the profiles and the hearts of countless thousands of ordinary folk. Silhouettes remain as popular today as ever. In fact, they have become one of the most collectable art forms. Unfortunately there are only a handful of silhouette cutters left, perhaps as few as 15 in the United States. We of the computer age may be seeing the last generation of silhouette artists.



pwnd?

Ouch, burrrn.

A Short History of Silhouettes by Katherine Courtney



A silhouette is a picture of an object or person showing the outline only, filled with solid shadow or to appear in profile. Its name is derived from "Etienne de Silhouette," a notorious French controller general of finance who lived from 1709 to 1767. He would amuse himself by freehand cutting shadow portraits out of black paper. There are several types of silhouettes but the most common were cut from black paper or hollow cut with scissors.

Silhouette drawing can be traced back as far as the stone age where many can be found on the walls of caves. The Greeks, Mesopotamian's and Etruscans used them also.



European silhouette artists in the seventeenth century would cast the shadow of their subject upon a wall by back lighting them with a candle and then paint their likeness. In the eighteenth century silhouettes became very common as paper was more readably available to the average artist. Many of these are still in the National Portrait Gallery in London.



Sir Francis Galton's uncle Erasmus Darwin (left), and grandfather, Dr. Erasmus Darwin (right). A painted silhouette. Galton believed that plain black silhouettes yielded better insight into character than more complicated portraits.



August Edouart came to the US in 1839. He worked in Boston, Philadelphia, Washington and Saratoga Springs and other large towns or summer resorts. He cut shadow portraits of six presidents, of vice-presidents, senators, and many other leading people. Most of these are still in British or American collections.



The conditions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in America were ripe for silhouette artists. The artist could easily travel with their tools of the trade: paper and sissors. New settlements and towns were springing up everywhere and good portrait painters were scarce. The quickly made, inexpensive portraits suited the hard working early settlers. Silhouettists have left America with a national heritage of portraiture. Without them the facial likeness of men and women who were important to American History would be completely unknown.



Ok, it's tesko talking now. Sorry if this is a little defensive but fuck it, people need to be schooled on this. Apple do not have a monopoly on silhouetts.

Puttin' salt in dah wound.



Sorry, I'll stop.

rusty nails in open wounds...

tetnus...ouch...

Thats a very scripted reply Tesko...

Thanks to Katherine Courtney