Sir Walter Scott 1830

Auguste Edouart made this silhouette of Sir Walter Scott, likely during the author’s lifetime, using paper and watercolor. Now, silhouette art is often dismissed as a simple craft, a quaint pastime, but it was also a skilled, specialized profession. Edouart built a lucrative career creating accurate likenesses. These paper portraits offered a relatively affordable way to have your image captured, compared to painted portraiture. Yet, Edouart also had to be a sharp businessman. He often cut multiple copies of a single image at once, using a mechanical aid to increase his output, foreshadowing the mass-produced imagery of the photographic age. The level of detail in this piece, from the interior setting to Scott’s posture, indicates Edouart's expertise. He has captured a sense of Scott's character through the simple act of cutting paper. So, next time you see a silhouette, remember there's more to it than meets the eye, a blend of artistry, craft, and commerce.