Silhouette

Silhouette, shadow image of a figure, especially a portrait, in which the outline or profile is solidly filled in or is cut from dark paper. Thus, the image stands out against a light background as if it were a shadow cast by strong light. Étienne de Silhouette, from whose name the term is derived, was a tightfisted French finance minister of the mid-18th century who made paper cutout portraits as a hobby. Paper silhouettes were popular during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, before the development of the daguerreotype and other forms of photography, as inexpensive substitutes for painted miniatures. Among the foremost makers of silhouettes was English artist John Miers. See also Daguerre, Louis Jacques Mandé.