Collage by Bella Seven
I've got something up my sleeve.
The History of Silhouettes
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.
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