Drie silhouetfoto's 1913 - 1914

Carolina Onnen’s silhouette photographs present us with a fascinating set of domestic scenes crafted with stark contrasts. The art of silhouette, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, captures subjects in profile, simplifying them to their basic forms, and carries echoes of ancient shadow play and the art of physiognomy. Observe how the profiles distill figures down to their most recognizable traits, turning individuals into types. This act of reduction is not merely aesthetic; it taps into a primal mode of representation found in cave paintings and early forms of portraiture, hinting at the human desire to capture and categorize essence. Consider the way in which, over time, these simplified forms evolve, adapting to new contexts. The scenes evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing, revealing an emotional landscape that is both deeply personal and universally resonant. These photographs, then, are not just records of moments, but vessels carrying the echoes of shared human experiences.