A silhouette was a popular form of portraiture in late 18th- and early 19th-century America. Generally appearing as a black profile on a light-colored background, a silhouette is stark and simple compared to a painted portrait. For many Americans, silhouettes conjured up the ideals of classical Greece and Rome, where they were also popular. And in an era before photography was invented, silhouettes were especially popular among those who could not afford to have costly portraits painted.
Still, there were not many silhouette artists in 18th-century America, partly because travel was difficult and so was the technique. There are even fewer today: Only about 20 in the world work “freehand,” meaning using just scissors and paper, without the aid of shadows, drawings or photographic devices.
One of those freehand artists is Lauren Muney, who is based in Baltimore and who spent time during the winter and spring researching and demonstrating her craft in Williamsburg. Muney came to Williamsburg thanks to a joint fellowship of the Foundation and EXARC: The International Society for Experimental Archaeology and Open-Air Museums. Experimental archaeology involves testing theories of how things were made in the past.
“I was excited to see Lauren’s application,” said Peter Inker, the Foundation’s director of Historical Research. “She is working in a field that we don’t often see at Colonial Williamsburg. Her research will help us to understand the conditions, networks and supplies of itinerant silhouette makers.”
“Not only that,” Inker added, “it let guests to the Historic Area experience a silhouette maker.”
Drawing People In
Muney was first drawn to silhouettes when she saw one in an antiques store.
“I couldn’t afford to buy the antique, but I went home to study up on it, to perhaps make myself one for my wall,” she said. “Little did I know how difficult it was. It took me over a year just to work out the basic skills. Trying to teach myself to cut silhouettes was incredibly challenging.”
Years of anatomy drawing classes for her bachelor’s degree in illustration had given her a deep understanding of the human body. Still, Muney admits her initial efforts resulted in awful silhouettes.
“Silhouette portraiture is deceptively difficult,” she said. “I’ve now been working almost 17 years as a silhouette artist, yet I think that I have only been excellent at cutting silhouettes in the last five years. It’s an incredibly intricate and personal portrait form that takes a long time to master.”
Cutting silhouettes freehand requires a range of skills, from a knowledge of anatomy to an ability to talk to people — and to talk to them in a range of venues. Muney works so quickly that observers sometimes do not realize how much skill is involved. But it is hard not to be impressed by the results.
“It’s very hard to get a good portrait with any medium,” Muney said. “Using only scissors is definitely a superpower where I keep the hardship a secret.
“Although I am only using scissors, without being able to erase, I can get incredibly precise and detailed. And these silhouettes can give the sense of humanity and detailed character.”
Drawn to History
Silhouettes offered Muney an opportunity to engage visitors in history.
“During the time I was discovering silhouettes, I was also noticing that the public seemed to be just observers in museums,” she said. “Sometimes they were walking through museums without connecting with anything. I wanted to give visitors something to connect with. I thought sitting for a silhouette was the perfect opportunity — a little bit of experiencing history without too much effort on their part. Easing into history, one might say.”
The Colonial Williamsburg- EXARC fellowship was especially satisfying to Muney since it gave her the opportunity to delve into the origins and evolution of her craft.
“My conception of being a resident researcher couldn’t even touch the exciting reality of being surrounded by so many experts, researchers, tradespeople, historians, conservators, curators,” she said. “What is so amazing about Colonial Williamsburg are the intertwined resources and knowledgeable people.”
In Williamsburg, Muney explored how silhouette artists created their black paper. Museum experts have long wondered how this paper was made. To reproduce the mysterious black coatings, Muney experimented with materials like lampblack (soot that can be produced by candles and oil lamps) and beer. She even joined in the process of brewing traditional beer at the Palace kitchen to understand how beer’s ingredients could be used to blacken paper.
She also studied how itinerant artists traveled. She talked to wheelwrights about carts and wagons, and she researched everything from the condition of roads to tavern fees.
“To get a big picture of a subject, one must put many little subjects together,” she said. “Nowhere else except Colonial Williamsburg could I come to one location to find so many experts and so many resources.”