Late 18th Century Fashion Silhouettes

I wanted to put a fun twist to some of the fashion plates I've previously posted about 

and decided to turn some of them into Silhouettes.

Silhouettes on a Stage by EKDuncan

This is my rendition of silhouette art using various late 18th century French fashion plates and a variety of vintage paper theater images from my personal collection.

 

Silhouette portraiture was a popular way to have ones likeness taken in the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries since they were quicker and less expensive than having a portrait painted. Many times they were done by professional silhouette artists; however, it was also an art form that many genteel ladies added to their repertoire of fashionable skills.

Normally a portrait silhouette would be done in profile of the subjects face, yet there are 

also many historical examples of full body and multi-subject silhouettes.

Many fine examples of vintage silhouettes at the National Portrait Gallery - HERE

There is also an interesting post on silhouette portraiture at Jane Austen World - HERE

Modern technology and programs like Photoshop are a quick and easy way to convert a png into a silhouette image. I selected 20 of the vintage fashion pngs I've previously posted about and turned those into silhouettes to use for fun craft projects.

These are the silhouettes I created of  late 18th century French fashions from the time of Marie Antoinette

Now that I have these digital silhouettes, I can have even more fun with them

 by adding creative layers either digitally or by hand.

I prefer to add my new "layers" digitally; however a silhouette can also be printed on 

plain paper then attached to decorative paper and cut out to achieve a similar effect. 

(Just remember to attache the silhouette image to the back side of the decorative paper 

so that once you cut your image out and turn it over the decorative paper is visible.)

Here are a few examples of digital embellishments 
I've created using some of my silhouette figures.

Red and Gold Royal Couple - Lady 1774 - Gent 1778

I collect all kinds of vintage images and have an extensive collection of antique book covers.  

This pair of French dignitaries was created using the image of an old red and gold leather book cover over each silhouette in Photoshop and then beveling the images to get a better outline around each.

The book cover I used is from a 1717 copy of - Historie de l'academie Royale.

French King, Louis XIV who reigned till 1715 was known as the "Sun King" so I thought this was a perfect match for my couple even though the French fashions depicted are from 1770's.

Antique Script Couple - Gent 1776 - Lady 1780

This couple was created in Photoshop using multiple layers including: 

patterns, textures, styles and script from a vintage document.

I was going for an antique metal  cutout look for this set of fashion figures.

Etched Peacock Glass Effect - Ladies Fashions of 1782 and two from 1774

The combinations you can come up with when layering over a silhouette are endless.

For this trio I layered in different patterns, styles and settings in Photoshop to get a totally different look. This time I wanted something that looked more like etched glass and one of my layers is actually a photograph I took of a piece of privacy glass from an old antique office door.

EKDuncan photo of antique privacy glass

I try and take pictures of interesting items to use as texture layers in Photoshop and funky glass is one of my favorite items to use.  The flash even caused a rainbow effect to appear in the glass that gave my trio of ladies a surprisingly fun bit of color.

This texture photo and others can be seen HERE at my deviantART gallery.


It's all up to you and your imagination as to what you can create with
a silhouette figure so here are all 20 for you to play with.

Enjoy!



Late 18th Century Fashion Silhouettes

The Ladies

1774 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1774 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1776 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1778 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1778 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1779 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1779 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1779 Theater Costume Fashion Plate Silhouette

1779 Theater Costume Fashion Plate Silhouette

1780 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1780 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1782 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1783 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1784 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1784 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

The Gents

1771 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1776 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1778 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1779 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

1779 French Fashion Plate Silhouette

Silhouettes are also a lot of fun to use just the way they are in traditional black.
I loved the effect they gave my Theater Scene as if the actors are just behind the curtain.

Theater Scene by EKDuncan using silhouettes of late 18th century French fashion plates

I hope you have enjoyed seeing these fashion plates in a new way and remember full color versions of each can be found on previous posts labeled 18th c French Fashions - HERE

I'll be back later on with more French Fashion plates from the time of Marie Antoinette.

till next time...