Unidentified profile portrait, man facing left
1773–1820
Medium
Cut black paper silhouette
Dimensions
5 3/16 × 3 7/8 in. (13.2 × 9.8 cm)
Classification
Cut Paper
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Leopold Heinemann, 1948, transferred from the Library
Accession Number
2013.141.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate cut-paper silhouette captures the profile of an unidentified man facing left, crafted by an anonymous German artist 1773 and 1820. Measuring just 5 3/16 × 3 7/8 inches, its intimate scale suggests it was likely a personal keepsake, perhaps for a locket or. The medium—black paper meticulously scissored to define the subject's sharp features, hair, and clothing—exemplifies the precision and artistry of silhouette portraiture, a technique that relied on bold contrasts and negative space to convey likeness without color or detail. Popular in late 18th- and early 19th-century Europe,...