Victorians were over the moon about silhouettes! In fact, the term for this technique of cutting portraits from black paper, which was becoming popular by the mid 18th century, was originally coined as a slur against Etienne de Silhouette the comptroller under Louis XV. He had encouraged the melting down of silver and gold to address the deficit from a long running war and his name became synonymous with cheapness.
Since I live in a Victorian home, I thought I’d whip up some of these simple period silhouettes to hang in the windows for Halloween. I had all my vintage floral frames laying about just waiting for their paintings, so with a little tissue paper, bristol board, tape and scissors I was able to transform the front of my house into an illuminated portrait gallery.
This is the original photo that inspired the silhouette theme. I loved the shadow the sun was casting on the wall!
Feminine silhouettes adorning the bay window.
Silhouettes by day.
Baby silhouette on the front door.
Can you guess?
Somebody call pest control!
My ode to Edward Scissorhands.
Halloween Night!