Outline image or design in a single solid, flat colour, giving the appearance of a shadow cast by a solid figure.
The term is usually applied to profile portraits in black against white (or vice versa), either painted or cut from paper, especially popular с 1750–1850 as the least expensive method of portraiture. The name derives from Étienne de Silhouette, Louis XV's finance minister, notorious for his frugality and his hobby of making cut-paper shadow portraits. In 17th-century Europe, shadow portraits and scenes were produced by drawing the outline cast by candlelight or lamplight; when paper became widely available, they were often cut out freehand directly from life. Photography rendered silhouettes nearly obsolete, and they became a type of folk art practiced by itinerant artists and caricaturists.
Silhouette portrait by Charles Willson Peale; in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
By courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.