SILHOUETTE ART HISTORY

18TH CENTURY IS THE BEGINNING

THERE ARE MANY FAMOUS

PAINTERS FROM THE 18TH

CENTURY .

THE ROYAL FAMILIES

COMISSIONED THESE

ARTISTS TO PAINT

PORTRAITS OF EACH FAMILY

MEMBER, INCLUDING PETS,

AT HIGH COSTS.

OIL PAINTINGS

AS EARLY AS THE

15TH CENTURY, THERE

ARE MINIATURE

PORTRAITS FOUND

AND ARTWORK EVEN

WORN AS JEWELRY.

AN EXAMPLE OF

THE KINGS DOG

PAINTED ON A

HUGE CANVAS

HANGING IN THE

PALACE.

ENTIENNE SILHOUETTE ~ WAS

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE IN

FRANCE, IN THE 18TH CENTURY.

HE WAS CONSIDERED A

CHEAPSKATE AND LOVED TAXING

THE POOR.

WHEN HE LEFT HIS POSITION

AND RETIRED, HE DECORATED HIS

HOME WITH HAND MADE PAPER

CUTTINGS OR CUT OUTS.

THE FRENCH MADE FUN OF THIS

CHEAP DÉCOR, THUS THE

NICKNAME SILHOUETTE’S.

ONLY THE RICH ~INTRO TO SILHOUET TE

THE ARISTOCRACY IN

EUROPE AND ESPECIALLY

FRANCE WERE ATTENDING

LAVISH BALLS AND

CEREMONIES BEGAN HAVING

THESE CUT- OUTS OF THEIR

PROFILES ( SILHOUETTES)

SHOWING OFF THE LATEST IN

FASHIONS AND ELABORATE

WIGS.

IN EUROPE 1700’S

MEANWHILE, THE

COMMONERS WERE

STARVING AND SUFFERING

AT THE HANDS OF THE

EXTRAORDINARY TAXES

THAT CREATED THE

POVERTY, BY THE FINANCE

MINISTER ,ENTIENNE

SILHOUETTE.

THIS ART FORM OF

SILHOUETTING BECAME THE

RAGE DUE TO THE

AFFORDABILITY OF A CUT OUT

VERSUS AN OIL PAINTING.

MANY SILHOUETTERS

MOVED TO AMERICA AND

WERE HIRED TO CUT OUT

PROFILES OF THE WEALTHY.

EARLY 19TH CENTURY

LATER IT BECAME

ACCESSIBLE BY COMMONERS

TO HAVE A CUT- OUTS OF EACH

FAMILY MEMBER AND EVEN

THE FAMILY PET.

MY SISTER AND I HAVE

SILHOUETTES FROM WHEN WE

WERE LITTLE. HAVE YOU SEEN

ONE IN YOUR HOME OR

GRANDPARENTS HOME?

CLASS PROJECT

CREATE OUR OWN

SILHOUETTE WITH A

HALLOWEEN TWIST.

T O B E G I N … …

DRAW YOUR PICTURE WITH A PENCIL

NEXT PAINT THE BACKGROUND WITH

WATERCOLOR PAINT

NEXT USE THE SHARPIES TO DARKEN OR MAKE

YOUR SILHOUETTE.