Recalling Silhouettes

A recent post on the Historic Trades Preservation Special Interest Group on Facebook reminded me of project that I worked on last summer.  Something that I'd like to revisit at some point: Silhouette Portraits.

His Excellency, George Washington in silhouette.

Popular in Europe in the mid 1700’s, Silhouette portraits, or Shades, didn’t become popular in America until the 1780s, then they really took off in Victorian times. Between 1775 and 1778, a gentleman by the name of Johann Casper Lavater published a book in Germany on the subject of Physiognomy (defining a person’s personality based on their facial features). In that book was an engraving of a “Device for taking Silhouettes.” Lavater would use the silhouettes as part of his studies into the then science of physiognomy.

Laveter's "Device"

Curious about the idea, I blew up a portion of the engraving and used the height of a standard chair seat to determine the dimensions of the Silhouette Frame illustrated. I recreated the frame using hand tools and period woodworking techniques. I used acrylic sheet instead of glass for safety reasons (don't need it falling over on a visitor), but otherwise there's nothing modern in it.

Estimated measurements in inches.

Google SketchUp drawing to determine possible construction.

Construction started in my basement.
Here the curved top piece is being shaped.

Once the weather warmed up, the "workshop" was moved outside.

Cutting the grooves for the glass.

Finished frame, minus finials on top

Stained for a more period appearance.

Testing the device with daughter #2.

 We had a chance to try it out in a period setting (Ethan Allen Homestead, circa 1787), which led to a few discoveries. First we tried setting it up in front of a large window in the house's parlor, but the day was overcast, and the window didn't provide enough light. Next we tried it with a (modern) lamp, which was better. Next step will be to try it out with a candle and mirror setup as shown in the illustration (we didn't have any of those on hand). Turns out, period houses don't necessarily have level floors either, which may explain the platform in the engraving.

Trying the frame out in (almost) period conditions.

Not bad with a modern light.

As I've dug deeper into the subject of Shade Portraits, I've found that later editions of Lavater's book show a more sophisticated frame, fixed to a chair, with an adjustable glass. Other instruments for enlarging and decreasing the outlines were also built, so there's a lot more research I can get into for future experiments.

A more complex version

An artist's reimagining of the scene.

It was fun doing something a little different, and introducing visitors to something sort of artistic. It also didn't hurt that there were fried apples cooking on the hearth in the kitchen next to the parlor, making for a super inviting environment.