The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1895-09-07
TIE FAD.
etsenee Of Shadow Portraits az Laid Down
by Lavater.

Gttenee OF shadow Portraits az Laid Down
by Lavater.
TIE fashion for silhouettes is gain
ing a strong hold in New York, and
in the fashionable drawing rooms
very many will he seen hanging
about the walls. Fantastic ideas in
photographing appear to be the
popular method just now.
1t is Il word that every one is famil
lar with, but no one probably has
thought of its origin, and the eX.
PLANTATION of that origin shows upar
how frail a basis some of our popu-
lar words are constructed. Some.
where in the neighborhood of 10C
years ago Il man started il Paris
what he called Chinese shadows, III
which the exhibition consisted OF
throwing upon a sheet the black out
lines of an object and making these
objects perform a play. About that
time the finances of the country
were very low, and a banker of the
name of Silhouette was called upon
to take hold Of them and bolster
them up. This he did, but failed
eventually to accomplish the results
that the people wanted, and Install.
uro largely came about through a
scheme that M. Silhouette was inter.
cstod in and upon which he published
q book called "a General Idea For
the Government of the Chinese. "
The popularity of the Chinese sbad-
oyys caused many people to say that
the minister of finance was publish.
ing this book rs an advertisement fol
the shadows. The show was called
Silhouette in derision, and that name
has chung to that particular picture
ever since.
Lavater, who is about the only
man who has made a study Of this
shadow art and certainly the only
who has acquired any fame
through it, reduced it to a science
and said that there were nine sec.
tons to be considered in making
these portraits: ID The arc from the
top Of the head to the end of the
hair, (2) the shape of tho forehead
TO the eyebrows, 81 tho space be.
tween the eyebrows ana the top OF
the nose, (4) the nose to the begin.
ming of the upper lip, 60 the upper
lip, CO. the point where the two lips
meet and the completion of this
lower lip, 60 the portion betwee]
the lower lip and the chin, (S) tn
chin, and (o) the throat.
The method pursued by those few
artists who make this sort Of thing
o feature is to employ a chair made
especially for the purpose and whicl
has rests which will hold the bod,
and the head i'll an immOvahlo posi-
ti0n. The shadow is then reflected
on q paper that is stretched over
piece of glass and placed in n NOV
able frame and which works up an;
down i'll another frame that is at
tachCd to one arm Of the chair. Tn
shadow is thrown On this paper b,
an artificial light at the opposite sid
Of the chair away from the frame
The artist then outlines upon tn
paper with q crayon the shadow tia
is there cast.
This is an absolute silhouette
Those that are cut offhand from
piece of black paper are often exec
lent, but they are not what the earl
artists understood by the word an
are not what has now come int
fashion.
IL making them for society pun
poses these silllouettes are photo
graphed--that is, after the subjcC
has been seated and the shado'
thrown on the paper the camera
, brought 10 bear upon it, and a neg;
tive is made, which Is printed off {
any other photograph, but in plaC
, of the former profile showing Ii
> features in a natural condition the1
, now exists merely the outlines and
, solid black mass within. -Datro
Tree Press.