Sign in

Silhouettist

@silhouettist.bsky.social
185 followers 364 following 222 posts

Silhouette artist and collector of old silhouettes, fascinated by art and shadows. I'm posting a series of antique silhouette portraits, mostly by unknown artists. To have me cut your own silhouette, choose a date at: www.silhouettist.com/dates

PostsRepliesMedia
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Silhouette by the 1920s American artist Ed Swanberg, which arrived today in an envelope with a lot of Canadian stamps. Would anybody like the stamps? #philately is not really my thing! #silhouette #edswanberg
Silhouette of a woman with a large hat facing left on a blank postcard. Shown with a "thank you" note and a brown envelope with nine different Canadian stamps on it.
000
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Two new sets of wedding prints, signed and ready to pack up and send out to clients. #weddingartist #silhouetteportrait
Two sets each of three prints showing 60 or so silhouettes arranged around a pair of full length silhouettes of the couple cut on their wedding day.
000
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Silhouette booth belonging to a German artist called Jacques Maté, who claimed to have set a world record in 1982 by cutting 485 silhouettes in 3 hours. #jacquesmate #silhouettes #worldrecord
Fairground stall with a large display of silhouettes, each in an oval frame. Around the stall is a huge red-backed display with eight 1-metre-tall silhouettes and the words "SCHEREN~schnitte" at the top.
000
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
One of Hubert Leslie's Brighton Pier silhouettes, cut in the 1920s or early 1930s, together with the folding publicity card with which it was supplied.
A silhouette of a man with white shirt collar facing left on a small white card. Next to it is a folding card with a self-portrait silhouette of Hubert Leslie printed on the cover. Underneath this is the title: HUBERT LESLIE, Artist Silhouettist, WEST PIER BRIGHTON. On the back is a long, descriptive text with the heading "Brighton's Silhouettist".
000
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Thirty Years years ago this month, in June 1996, I left my street artist days behind and embarked on a full-time career as a silhouettist. What was I thinking?! www.roving-artist.com/historical-r...
roving-artist.com
Thirty years, and a thank-you to Hubert Leslie
Charles became a full-time silhouettist in June 1996, 30-years ago this month. He looks back at the work of Hubert Leslie, who taught him so much at the time.
000
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
One thing which none of the historical silhouettists whose work I collect could ever have done is attend to an event in Brisbane via video link. What fun it was! www.roving-artist.com/remote-appea...
roving-artist.com
Remote Appearances by Charles Burns
Book Charles Burns for a remote appearance at your event, to cut silhouettes of guests via video link, delivered worldwide. Weddings, corporate events and more.
000
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
I spend so much time writing about obscure silhouettists, I thought I should say a word or two about the famous ones too: www.roving-artist.com/historical-r...
roving-artist.com
Famous Silhouette Artists
A guide to the most famous silhouette artists in history, and some thoughts about what makes the art so attractive today.
000
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
A pair of silhouettes mounted on blank, Italian postcards. Both are stamped, postmarked 1904, and were posted together to the same address in Montpellier, France. I have to assume they were a French couple on holiday in Italy when the they met the street artist Audax and had their silhouettes cut.
Silhouettes of a man and woman face to face on two blank postcards. Each card has the signature 'Audax' printed lower right. The couple are dressed in typical clothing of the 1900s: he with a bowler hat and stiff white collar, and she in a coat and wide beret of some sort.
010
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Happy New Year everybody! Here's the paper cutting I made yesterday for the #birdwhisperer project, now mounted on a 15 x 10cm card and ready to go to a new home. Let me know below if you'd like it. I'll just need a donation to cover postage + whatever you feel is appropriate. #europeancrestedtit
Silhouette of a bird on a twig, cut from black paper and mounted on a white postcard.
Written in pencil lower left: European Crested Tit
And signed lower right: Charles Burns 31/12/25
1232
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
Paper cutting of the European Crested Tit for this month's #birdwhisperer project. Thanks for the challenge—it's not often I get to silhouette a bird! #birdsilhouette #papercutting #art
Shape of a bird, perched on a twig, cut from black paper. The paper cutting is unmounted, lying on a bamboo table top. Below it are the scissors it was cut with and various off cuts of black and white paper generated during the process.
34511
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
These silhouettes cut in 1925 formed the inspiration for my own hand-cut Xmas postcard this year. www.roving-artist.com/christmas-ca...
roving-artist.com
100 Years of Christmas Silhouettes 1925 – 2025
Exactly 100 years ago an unknown English artist was cutting silhouettes and pasting them onto a Christmas greetings postcard.
020
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Exactly 100 years ago a lady with a hat posed for her silhouette, probably in a department store, somewhere in the UK or possibly the USA. Here is the result. I've no idea who she was (as she didn't add her name) nor who the artist was (as they didn't sign it). #Christmas1925
Silhouette of a woman with a hat facing left on a grubby postcard. The has a printed, green, floral border, into which the silhouette has been pasted. Underneath in red: "Xmas Greetings 1925."
020
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Four characters from Jane Austen’s novels. Part of a set currently adorning the Christmas tree at One Aldwych. Names are written under each in pencil.
Silhouette of a woman facing left in a gold, oval frame, hanging on a tree. Written in pencil under the bust line: Catherine de BoughSilhouette of a woman facing right in a gold, oval frame, hanging on a tree. Written in pencil under the bust line: Elizabeth BennetSilhouette of a man facing right in a gold, oval frame, hanging on a tree. Written in pencil under the bust line: William CollinsSilhouette of a woman facing left in a gold, oval frame, hanging on a tree. Written in pencil under the bust line: Mrs Bennett
030
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Out today is this episode of The Variety podcast, in which Adam Sternberg interviews me about my life and work as a silhouettist. youtu.be/HcfrIVQ7mtg?...
youtu.be
Charles Burns on royal silhouettes, Covent Garden origins, and the art of performing with scissors
YouTube video by The Variety Show
020
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
This I was working with One Aldwych to realise their dream of a Xmas Tree covered in #JaneAusten characters. The unveiling was this morning! So happy to see them all in place.
Four silhouettes on a tree branch at the bar. Tree in the foyer at One AldwychSilhouette of Fanny Price in the tree. Silhouettes on a shelf.
132
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Silhouette cut by Claude Marin, Place du Tertre, Paris, 1920s. Like all Montmartre silhouettists today, Marin never stuck his silhouettes to the card, but supplied them loose in a glassine envelope. I'm not sure why. It seems risky when head and body are connected by just a tiny sliver of paper!
Cut black-paper silhouette of a young man with a white shirt and tie. The silhouette is supplied with a glassine envelope, behind, and printed backing card saying: PARIS – BUTTE MONTMARTRE, Claude MarinSilhouette of a young man with a white shirt collar in the badly-yellowed glassine envelope in which it was supplied. The silhouette is cut by Claude Marin and the artist's name is just visible bottom right. Silhouette of a young man, by Claude Marin, lifted away from its backing card (the silhouette was never glued to this card). The silhouette has a sharp eyelash, typical of this artist's work; a cut-away white collar, cut from the front; and a lapel line, cut from the back. Head and body are joined by a sliver of paper just 2mm wide.
030
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
Looking at antique silhouettes it isn’t immediately apparent what fun they are. Yet, their “entertainment value” is the reason I’ve been making a living cutting silhouettes for over 30 years. #corporateentertainment
040
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
The relationship between silhouettists and photographers has been a long a fascinating one.
030
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Silhouette of me cut by my friend Steve Abbott on Llandudno Pier during filming of Silhouette Secrets in 2014. www.roving-artist.com/silhouette-s... #silhouetteportrait #silhouettesecrets #papercutting
Silhouette of a man with peaked hat and curly hair facing right in a maple-wood frame. Under the silhouette the artist added the inscription: "Best wishes. Llandudno Pier, 2014, Steve Abbott"
131
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Cutting a silhouette the same way it’s always been done: freehand with a pair of scissors. #silhouettecutting
050
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 12/10/2025
Here's a recent project of mine: create an English print-on-demand version of a small book by the German silhouettist, Anna Corsep. The original was published in Leipzig in 1909. It's an interesting addition to the scant literature on silhouette portraits. www.lulu.com/shop/anna-co...
lulu.com
Silhouette
Silhouette artist, Anna Corsep (1862–1943) published her slim, quirky volume about Silhouettes in 1898. The book has never been published in English until today. This new edition has been carefully tr...
030
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Recently arrived silhouette by Claude Marin, cut in Montmartre in the 1930's or 40's. The silhouette and backing card are kept loose in a glassine envelope, so you can turn the cutting over to see the white. #montmartre #claudemarin
Silhouette of a girl with beret and long pony-tail, facing left on a cream-coloured card. The caption at the bottom reads "PARIS – BUTTE MONTMARTRE, Claude Marin". The white, reverse side of a silhouette of a young girl, held between thumb and forefinger away from its backing card.
081
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
Gebhard Wagner began his career as a #silhouettist cutting these evocative portraits of beer drinkers at the Munich #Hofbrauhaus. Here is a blog I wrote about him after visiting it last month. www.roving-artist.com/silhouette-c...
roving-artist.com
Please Raise a Glass to Gebhard Wagner
When collecting old silhouettes, every so often I come across something which stops me in my tracks. “I wish I’d thought of that!” I say to myself. This is what happened when I first came across the…
020
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Arrived this morning from a seller in Kiev, Ukraine. Can anybody help me read the inscription? Don't know who the artist is, but can see that it was cut in 1987, a few years before the breakup of the USSR.
Large silhouette of a man with collar and tie, facing right on a plain postcard. I've photographed it together with the envelope in which it arrived, covered in many Ukrainian stamps. At the bottom of the card is a short inscription in gold ink. I can't read it, apart from the ending: 1987z (year 1987).
140
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Stonor Park is home to a unique collection of 18th- and 19th-century silhouettes. Next week, Lady Ailsa Camoys will lead a private tour of both the house and the silhouette collection, at the end of which I'll make a silhouette for everybody present. www.stonor.com/events/an-ev...
stonor.com
An Evening of Silhouettes at Stonor Park - Stonor
020
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
The address 111 Strand, London, is important in the history of silhouette art. It's the location of the legendary Miers & Field studio, which set the standards for others to follow in the late eighteenth century. www.roving-artist.com/history/john...
roving-artist.com
John Miers’ Legendary Studio at 111 Strand
JOHN MIERS is one of my favourite artists. I find there is still much to be learned about the art of painting silhouettes from studying his work. He worked from a studio at 111 Strand, London…
040
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
One of my favourite silhouettes by Battista Baj. Cut from black paper with scissors in the 1900s, probably in Italy, with some shading added in pencil. The cutting of the wing collar and spectacles is really great.
Silhouette of a man with beard and moustache facing left on a plain card. He has small, round spectacles and is wearing a cloth cap, wide neck tie and white, wing-collar shirt. Underneath is the artist's stamp: Baj.
061
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Self Portrait by Anna Cosep, a German silhouettist and paper cutter who published a short book called "Die Silhouette" in 1898. A second edition came out in 1909, which I've been creating an English translation of with the help of ChatGPT and DeepL. Fascinating project!
Plain black silhouette of a woman facing left. Underneath is a caption, printed in an old-style Fraktur font with a long S, which reads: Anna Corsep. Selbstporträt.
020
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
Here's a fascinating photograph of a French silhouettist at work in the 1890s or 1900s. The artist is possibly M. Silvar. His signboard reads: Portraits Silhouettes CARTES POSTALES 3 pour 0,30 It sounds like a good deal! www.roving-artist.com/history/did-...
Photograph of a French silhouettist posing by his signboard. He has one foot on a stool and is holding scissors and paper in his hands, while staring straight at the camera with a rather haughty expression. His signboard, at the centre of the photo, is covered in small silhouettes, each on a postcard, with the price clearly displayed in the middle. To the right of the board is a woman, looking rather quizzically at the camera. Behind the artist stands a boy who appears to be waiting in line for a silhouette, perhaps the first in a long queue. Behind the signboard are passers by and the various stalls of what might be a local town fête.
031
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Very small silhouette cut from shiny black paper by an unknown artist in 1860. It looks like a plain black profile, but if you turn the silhouette to the light, you can see details of hair an clothing pressed into the paper. I believe these were made using a stylus on the back of the paper.
Half length silhouette of a man with a white shirt on a tall, thin card. Set against the thank-you note and envelope it arrived with. Under the silhouette is a hard-to-read caption in written blue ink: "rasen (?) Theodor Stein em 1860"Detail of the same silhouette showing how details of hair and clothing appear when the card is angled to catch the light.
021
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Arrived this morning, cut by an unknown artist (I think in the 1920s) and mounted onto a blank Dutch postcard. I particularly like the way the artist cut the wing collar. He has one of the smallest cut eyelashes I've ever seen.
Silhouette of a man with wing collar and tie, facing left on a plain card, shown with the envelope and packing slip with which it arrived
041
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Did Monsieur Silvar ever really exist? He was one of the most prolific 1900s silhouettists in Paris, yet the only clue to his name is this silhouette, on which the sitter wrote in French: "My silhouette, made by Mr Silvar, silhouettist at the Olympia, Paris." www.roving-artist.com/history/did-...
Silhouette of a man with boater hat facing right. Above, somebody has written:
Ma silhouette faite par M. Silvar Silhouettiste á "l'Olympia" à Paris.
The card is stamped and postmarked on the front. Under the silhouette the sitter has added his signature and the date: 3 août 1907.
041
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
Silhouette signed A.M. Arassen. This is in a friend's collection and is the only Arassen silhouette either of us has ever seen. Reverse includes the inscription: E. Hayner, Eversley, June 1924. It's a tantalising glimpse of work by an unknown talented, probably professional artist.
Silhouette of a man with a. long beard facing right on a blank, English postcard. The silhouette is cut from black paper and highlighted in white ink to indicate details of hair, collar and beard. Unusually, there is no bustline: the silhouette ends at the bottom with the straight edge of the paper. It is signed very small, lower right: a. m. arassen.
0112
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
Page of silhouettes from one of my silhouette duplicate albums. Each cut with scissors. #silhouette #blueskyartshow
18 silhouette portraits cut from white paper and mounted on dark blue
0161
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Silhouette by Jen Handrup working in London’s DH Evans department store in the 1900s. Cut in two parts with collar details added in grey watercolour and hat details in white crayon. #dhevans #handrup #arthistory
Silhouette of a woman with a large feathered hat facing left on a plain card.
191
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Happy Day! Just arrived, this pair of silhouettes by the well-known African-American silhouettist E.J. Perry, probably cut at Coney Island in the 1900s. This essay by Eric Washington tells more: www.gothamcenter.org/blog/ej-perr... #ejperry #blackhistory #arthistory #silhouetteportrait
Two silhouettes of men, each facing right on separate printed postcards. The cards each have the same printed, decorative border. At the bottom is the caption: "Ye Olde Tyme Silhouette by Perry". Both men have hats and beards and are wearing white shirt and tie. One shirt has a wing collar.
051
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Another by the inimitable Harry Oakley, cut with scissors, probably in a department store in the 1920s or 30s. I love his sensitive, one-line, full-length silhouettes. #arthistory #silhouetteportrait #harryoakley
Full-length silhouette of a girl in school uniform facing right on a plain card, set in a heavy oak frame. Her hands are clasped behind her back and her head is inclined down slightly. Bottom left is the artist's stamp: H.L.OAKLEY
070
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Set of sixteen silhouettes cut by Harry Oakley at a dinner party on Saturday 20th August 1932. #silhouettes #dinnerparty #harryoakley
Sixteen silhouettes arranged in two rows of eight, all facing right in a simple, black frame. The men are all wearing white shirts with black bow ties, while many of the women have earrings cut into the paper. Bottom left is written in ink: "Cut by H. L. Oakley". Bottom right is written: "Dinner Party, December 20th 1932"
061
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Two tiny silhouettes by Felily Odzikowski. These were cut in Paris in 1934. On the left is a portrait and on the right a caricature, both of the same woman! www.roving-artist.com/silhouette-c... #felilyodzikowski #champselysees #Paris #arthistory
Two silhouettes of the same woman on separate cards with a 2€ coin added for scale. The heads of each silhouette are about the same size as the coin. The portrait version faces right and the caricature version faces left. At the bottom of each card is a label, printed in tiny, green, capital letters: DÉCOUPÉ PAR FÉLIX ODZIKOWSKI .EFO. PARIS-1934
1102
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Here is my new blog about the icon Parisian street artist Felix "Felily" Odzikowski. I took the time to visit a couple of his haunts when I visited Paris last week. Here is the result: www.roving-artist.com/silhouette-c...
roving-artist.com
Felily Odzikowski: Parisian street artist
WHEN LOOKING FOR examples of Parisian street silhouettes, the name Felily Odzikowski comes up again and again. However, all I know about him comes from a number of his silhouettes I’ve collected over…
091
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
Pair of silhouettes cut by Inger Eidem at Tivoli Gardens in 1956. She always cut both portrait and caricature versions! I've written a blog about Inger here: www.roving-artist.com/silhouette-c... #silhouetteportrait #tivoligardens #ingereidem
Two silhouettes of a woman with wavy hair face to face on two cards. On the left is a portrait, facing right and set in a printed oval border with a ribbon design at the top. On the right is a caricature, with a grotesquely long nose, facing left and set in a larger rectangular border. Under each is a printed legend: "Tivoli 1956" and a smaller printed label: "Klippet af Inger Eidem" (cut by Infer Eidem).
060
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Just for a change, here is one of my own. The late Prince Phillip, cut from life at the 80th birthday party of Queen Elizabeth II, held at The Ritz, London on 5th December 2006. This is my copy. I recall he commented I'd made his nose too big! What do you think? #princephillip #silhouette
White-paper silhouette of man facing left on a dark-blue background. Caption written in ink just above the bustline reads: "HRH Duke of Edinburgh"
1121
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Back in the UK, so here's something more English. This charming silhouette of two siblings at play cut by Hubert Leslie. It was made in 1924, probably during a home visit. I love the pose of the girl and spiral, wooden table leg. #arthistory #silhouetteportraits #hubertleslie
Scene cut from a single piece of back paper and mounted onto white card. On the right is a young girl, kneeling on the floor and pointing at something in a book. The book rests on a small, single-leg, round table with three feet at the bottom. The table, with its spiral, wooden leg, forms the centre of the composition. On the left is a young boy (assumed to be the girl's younger brother) sitting on a cushion and too short to properly see what his sister is pointing at. Under the cutting is the artist's signature: Hubert Leslie 1924
0110
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Today's silhouette is another one from Paris, cut in 1977 in Montmartre. I don't know the artist, but it's interesting that they use a variation of the same card that Odzikowski used to mount silhouettes (see post a few days ago). #silhouettes #the100dayproject #arthistory
Silhouette of a young girl with shoulder length hair facing right inside a printed design of an artist's pallet in purple. Above her is written, in red ink: "BUL! PARIS '77 M.MARTRE" (I don't know if Bul is the girl's name or the artist's, or something else). Printed on the card, outside the pallet design, are icons of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Coeur Basilica.
0121
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Since I'm currently in Paris here is a pair of silhouettes cut in Paris on the first day of the 1960s by an unknown artist. I've no idea who the couple are, but suspect they were cut in the Place du Tertre. #arthistory #the100dayproject #silhouette
Silhouettes of a man and woman mounted on separate cards and arranged face to face. Under each is a red stamp reading: "PARIS, 1 JAN 1960." The man has a white collar and tie cut into the paper while the woman is wearing a headscarf.
0141
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Silhouette cut in 1909 by G.Dixy of Monte-Carlo, one of a number of completely unknown silhouettists working all over Europe at the start of the twentieth century. Try googling their name, I suspect all you'll find is this post!
Silhouette of a girl or young woman with spectacles, a wide-brimmed, floral hat and hair plaited behind, facing left in a decorative border. Under the border is the caption: "Découpée par G. DIXY, de Monte-Carlo". At the top of the card is another caption largely hidden by the hat, which hides it. By shining a light through the card I can see this reads: "SOUVENIR ARTISTIQUE 1909".
071
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Full-length silhouette by August Edouart, regarded by many of the father of freehand cutting. Card measures 33cm high. The collar and even the button holes were cut with scissor points. #silhouette #arthistory #augustedouart
Man with top hat and high white collar standing with a walking cane on a tall card. Cut with scissors in England by August Edouart on 16th August 1827. The subject is Mr Bird, described on the back as a justice of the peace.
081
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Silhouette of a woman by Jack Oakley. Probably dating from the 1930s, this was cut with scissors before the hair and necklace details were in gold paint with a fine brush. Card measures 13 x 7 cm. #arthistory #portrait #oldpicture
Silhouette of a woman with curly hair facing left on a damaged card. Details of the hair are added in a series of short, fine Bruch strokes in gold paint, while her pearl necklace is indicated with a row of gold dots. Under the bustline is a pencilled signature: JBO. The card is yellowed with a clear mark made by a former, acidic card mount. The edges were once glued to this mount and have been damaged when it was removed.
0131
Silhouettist @silhouettist.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Silhouette cut in 1930s Paris by Felily Odzikowski, a Polish street artist. He would have been a common sight on the streets of Paris right up until the 1960s. I love his small-scale silhouettes and the well-printed cards on which he mounts them. #silhouettes #Paris #streetart
Silhouette of a woman mounted on a 12 x 8cm card. She is wearing a heavy coat with a wide lapel, and a white blouse indicated by a V-shaped cut under her neckline. The card has a printed signature: "Felix Odzikowski, Paris". This is part of a red, oval artist-pallet design in which the silhouette is mounted. Outside the pallet is a blue background incorporating small motifs of famous Paris landmarks. These include the Eiffel Tower and the Sacré-Cœur Basilica.
0121