Silhouettes

Antique Classy Painted Silhouette of Dapper Gent
  • Full length painted (not cut) silhouette of a dapper gentleman holding what appears to be a smoking cigarette in his proper right hand. Actually, I’m not sure what he’s holding because it points down towards his fingers and would be very close to his long jacket, but there appears to be smoke (or bubbles?) coming up from the lower end. It just adds to the whimsey of this profile in my mind. The clothing and the man’s face are painted in dark grey with detail added around the edge of the clothing, details of the clothing, hair and face painted in lighter grey and black. The painting of his facial features is an unusual feature. His shirt, collar and waistcoat are left white with added detail in lighter grey. He wears a gold stick pin as the only bit of color to the piece. His waist is pinched, his patterned waistcoat fits tightly enough to cause a slight ripple at the buttons and he wears a watch or a miniature portrait from a long cord around his neck and tucked into his inside jacket pocket. The artist placed him on a simple, outlined floorcloth. Signed and dated on the left side of the rug, “F.L 1852”.

    He resides in a period gilt frame measuring 9 3/8” x 6 1/4" with a wonky brass hanging loop. The frame has some dings along the edges. It is silver leaf that was toned to look gold (what we refer to as “Lemon Yellow”). The grey lines you see on the frame are where the shellac or varnish cracked just a bit and the silver tarnished—that is the way you can tell the difference between a silver gilded frame and a true gold leaf frame—gold doesn’t tarnish. The silhouette has expected overall toning with two large moisture stains along the right edge as seen in the photos.

    Very classy and unusual silhouette!

    #4605    Sold