Young Girl with Long Braids and Pantalettes, Holding a Flower
1841
Medium
Cut black paper pasted onto folded sheet of white paper
Dimensions
Image: 6 7/16 × 3 7/16 in. (16.4 × 8.7 cm) Sheet: 9 7/8 × 7 3/4 in. (25.1 × 19.7 cm)
Classification
Cut Paper|Ephemera
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Mary Martin, 1938
Accession Number
38.145.366
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 19th century, portraits like *Young Girl with Long Braids and Pettes, Holding a Flower (1841) by Edouart offered an accessible way for families to capture loved ones' likenesses. Created from cut black paper pasted onto folded white sheet, this image depicts a young girl profile, her long bra and pantalettes (a undergarment peeking her dress) evoking Victorian innocence, while the flower her hand adds a touch tender sentimentality. Edart, a master of precise paper-cutting technique, thousands of such profiles during his travels in Europe and America making silhouettes a popular, ...