Educational and methodological material on fine arts (Fine Arts) on the topic: Silhouette graphics. Using silhouette in design and drawing

Origins of silhouette art in Russia

Purpose: The origins of the art of silhouette take us back to ancient times. Ancient legends connected the origin of painting with the emergence of the first silhouette images. This article will be of interest to fine arts teachers, educators, educators additional education, and everyone who likes the art of silhouette.

Age: children from 10 years old

Silhouette- display of something limited by an outline, monochrome outline image something against a background of a different color, vague outlines of something in the dark, an outline, an outline of a figure without details. The term is also used as a synonym for “profile,” however, unlike a profile, it can depict a person from any angle.
Silhouette- variety graphic technology, when the image appears against the background as a flat spot with a characteristic, expressive contour.

Dry and strict, at first glance monotonous and lifeless, the art of silhouette captivates us with its mysterious reticence and subtle grace. The closer you look at it, the more you realize that mastering the art of silhouette is not as easy as it seems. Solidity of drawing, respect for perspective and proportionality are necessary here no less than in any painting.
Despite the fact that the silhouette lies in two dimensions and not three, oddly enough, the laws of three dimensions apply to it: a talented silhouette artist knows how to convey movement, relief, and even facial expression in monotonous black spots.

Let's take a look at how the art of silhouette was born.
IN Ancient Greece As early as the 6th century BC, profile figures were used in vase painting: first black on a red background, and then red on black.

IN Ancient China The famous Chinese silhouettes arose.
However, the art of silhouette in its present form received its true birth in France in the first half of the 18th century. It spread very quickly throughout Europe.
It was in France that the name “silhouette” itself was established - after the royal controller of finances, Etienne Silhouette (1709 - 1767), who was fond of cutting out small figures from black paper in his spare time.

In Russia the silhouette appeared in mid-18th century century. These were small portraits of associates of Peter I and Catherine's nobles.
One of the first silhouette images belongs to the largest Russian sculptor F.I. Shubin (1740 - 1805). This is a portrait of an unknown young woman, done in black ink on a gold background.

In the second half of the 18th century, two famous masters silhouette art, who won European fame - F. Sido and F. Anting. French artist F. G. Sido cut out about 200 silhouette portraits of Catherine II's courtiers from paper, and the court silhouette portraitist Johann Friedrich Anting worked in pen and ink. Silhouettes cut out of paper were pasted into engraved ornamental frames.

The technique used to create the silhouettes was very different: they were drawn with ink, cut out of paper, sometimes engraved on wood, and from the beginning of the 20th century on linoleum. The classic silhouette, drawn in ink, was distinguished by a strict and clear outline and a thick black fill. For the most part, silhouettes were cut out of black paper with small scissors and pasted onto a board, glass or colored paper.

Silhouette images came into fashion in the early 19th century. They are created not only professional artists, but also numerous amateurs. At this time, the subject matter of silhouette art expanded: silhouettes on historical, everyday and battle themes began to appear.
Today I would like to dwell on the works of Count F.P. Tolstoy, one of the largest and most original masters of silhouette in Russia in the first half of the 19th century.

A sculptor, medalist, draftsman and painter, he brought a fresh spirit to the art of silhouette. Basically, artists who previously worked in the silhouette technique were engaged in portraiture. Fyodor Petrovich primarily worked with battle episodes and scenes from folk life. These were, as a rule, complex, multi-figure compositions.

Tolstoy turned to the silhouette after the War of 1812, when the era of classicism and its final chord - the Empire style - gradually gave way to a new style - romanticism. In his lively, masterfully carved silhouettes, the hand of the sculptor is palpable: each composition is integral and diverse at the same time. The expressiveness of the works allows them to be remembered literally from the first second, but the viewer receives great pleasure when viewing them for a long time. These are whole stories similar to the unfolding theatrical action.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the art of silhouette, despite the limited means of expression, is infinitely diverse, and the scope of its application is extremely wide. Thanks to creativity contemporary artists and amateur silhouette painters, in the 21st century, new cultural discoveries await us, the audience.

References: E.V. Kuznetsova “The Art of Silhouette”, 1969

“THE MOST PLEASANT SHADOW” IN RUSSIA

L.L. RUDENKO

The origins of the art of silhouette take us back to ancient times...

The art of depicting black-figure contour scenes has come down to us on ancient vessels produced in Attica. Ancient artists (VI century BC) masterfully mastered expressive contour and stroke, creating complex multi-figure profile compositions.

With the invention of paper in Ancient China (105 AD), "Chinese shadows" appeared. From China along the Great Silk Road they penetrate into Western Europe, Where public culture begins to master a new art. But by the middle of the 18th century, the European life of the art of the “Chinese shadow” froze and experienced its Renaissance in France, where it received the name “silhouette”.

Russia's fascination with silhouette dates back to the second half of the 18th century. The honor of introducing Russians to the European silhouette belongs to Empress Catherine the Great, a German princess by origin, and to the French master F. G. Sido, who was rightly called the “artist of scissors.” He painted a portrait of Catherine the Great and presented her as a gift with her silhouette with the caption “The most pleasant shadow of Catherine II, Autocrat of All Russia.”

The master worked in St. Petersburg for only two years, from 1782 to 1784, and during such a short time created about 200 portraits. An album of silhouettes by F. G. Sido “The Court of Empress Catherine II, her employees and associates” was published in St. Petersburg in Russia in 1899.

F. Sido. Silhouette portraits
on the left – “The Pleasant Shadow of Catherine II” (1729-1796)”
on the right is a portrait of Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky (1739-1791)

F. Sido.
on the left – Emperor of Prussia Frederick the Great (1712-1786)
on the right is Pope Pius VI (1717-1799).

At approximately the same time as Sido, the German draftsman I.F. worked in St. Petersburg. Anting (1753-1803),
who released the album “Collection de cent silhouettes” in 1791.

I.F. Anting. Russian scientist Razumovsky S.Ya. (1734-1812),

In the first half of the 19th century, silhouette portraiture became one of the favorite artistic entertainments of the Russian nobility. The “silhouette” baton is picked up by the Russian master Fyodor Tolstoy (1783-1873), sculptor, medalist, draftsman and painter.

F. Tolstoy. Russian Tsar Alexander the First (1777-1825)

F. Tolstoy.
on the left – Soldier (1812-1820),
right – Man reading a book (37x35)

The best silhouettes of F. Tolstoy are dedicated to Patriotic War 1812. Of particular interest is F. Tolstoy’s silhouette composition “Parade of the Pavlovsk Regiment at the Suvorov Monument” from the time of Emperor Nicholas I (1796-1855).

F. P. Tolstoy. Parade of the Pavlovsk Regiment at the monument to Suvorov
1816 – 1820s (Illustration: – 7x21cm.)
.

F. Tolstoy's silhouettes, depicting the everyday life of Russian life, attract attention due to the breadth and versatility of the artist's interests. Russian peasants in his works are worthy, strong, attractive people who evoke deep respect.

F. P. Tolstoy. Scene in the hut. 1816 – 1820s
(Illustration note – 8x21cm.)

IN mid-19th century century, interest in silhouette art in Russia almost disappeared and cutting out silhouettes turned into the profession of traveling artists, who earned themselves a meager piece of bread through this activity at public festivities and fairs. People in the secular circle have lost interest in this art.

In the second half of the 19th century, “the beautiful Diana” became F. Tolstoy’s successor. This is what contemporaries called E. Boehm (1843-1914). She created the genre of children's scenes - the whole world childhood. Her best works are inspired by images of children.

E. M. Bem. Self-portrait.

E. Boehm. Silhouettes from the Lives of Children (1877).

A new period of silhouette revival begins in late XIX V. in the work of the Russian artist K. Somov (1869-1939) - “he is a master of lines, he is a magician of lines” in the words of A. Benois.

K. Somov. Screensavers for the magazine “Golden Fleece”, 1906:
on the left “Kiss”; on the right is “Lady with a Dog.”

But the time of real revival of the art of silhouette was the beginning of the 20th century. Returning to the traditions of the past to understand the present was completely in the spirit of ideas Silver Age. The 20th century brought new names: Nina Simonovich - Efimova (1878-1958), Georgy Narbut (1886-1920), Mikhail Dobuzhinsky (1875 - 1957) and Elizaveta Kruglikova (1865 - 1941).

N. Simonovich-Efimova. Sledging.

G.Narbut. Self-portrait with family.

G. Narbut. And Krylov (1769-1844), Russian fabulist.

With the name of M. Dobuzhinsky, the greatest master book graphics, in the history of the Russian silhouette is associated whole line“decorative” vignettes and endings for the magazine “Apollo”, distinguished by the decorativeness and whimsicality of the forms of the original pattern. Dobuzhinsky cares not so much about the expressiveness of the black spot as about the complex tortuosity of the contour lines, trying to tell as much as possible with them.

M. V. Dobuzhinsky. The ending. 1909

M. V. Dobuzhinsky. Madrigal. 1908.

Another major master of silhouette was E. Kruglikova. Her work was distinguished by her search for new modern means and forms of expression and developed in a realistic direction.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portraits of Russian poets of the Silver Age
On the left is B. Pasternak (1890-1960), on the right is K. Balmont (1867-1942)

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of a Russian poet
M. Voloshina (1877-1932).

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portraits of the Russian poetess
A. Akhmatova (1889-1966)

E. Kruglikova. Group portrait of Russian artists E. Lansere, I. Repin and K. Petrov-Vodkin in the halls art exhibition.

Having been revived, the art of silhouette no longer died. It was widely used both as an independent genre and as an applied medium for illustrations.

N. Ilyin. Tsarskoye Selo. Russian poet Pushkin A.S. (1799-1837)

V. Helmersen. Ill. to the novel by A. Pushkin “Eugene Onegin”
(Illustration note – 7x7cm.)

The works of contemporary Russian artists of various generations show that the art of silhouette portraits is successfully developing.

Arina Daur (born 1982)

on the left is a self-portrait (12x17), on the right is a portrait of K.Kh. Andersen

Igor Babayants (born 1940).
Portrait of a mother.

Alexander Gusev (born 1953).

• introduce students to expressive means of graphics;
• talk about the origin of the word “silhouette”;
• develop creative imagination;
• develop skills in conveying mood in a drawing.

Equipment:

• album sheet, rectangle of black paper 10x14 cm,
• pencil,
• scissors,
• glue,
• eraser,
• tassel,
• rags.

For students:

• line-spot portrait<Рисунок1>, <Рисунок2>,
• silhouettes of N. Ilyina’s work “Pushkin and Nanny”<Рисунок3>,
• cover by E. Narbut for the book of fables by I.A. Krylov<Рисунок8>/on each desk 1 copy/.

For the teacher:

• silhouette of Krylov,
• black butterfly<Рисунок9>, white butterfly<Рисунок10>, colored butterfly <Рисунок11>, a whole flock of butterflies /silhouette/<Рисунок12>,
• silhouette illustrations from Krylov’s fable / “The Crow and the Fox”<Рисунок5>,“Pig and oak”<Рисунок6>, “The Fox and the Grapes”<Рисунок7>and others/.

Figure 7

During the classes

1. Org. Moment

2. Main part of the lesson

Dear guys, Today we will look and talk about not quite ordinary jobs.

These works are performed graphic artists. They love black very much, because it is the main color of color and they simply cannot do without it. Everything in them is depicted as black shadows. Such images are called silhouettes.

Silhouette - view graphic image. This is a flat, monochromatic image of figures and objects.

- Why do we say What silhouette - this is an image in the form of a shadow, which necessarily repeats the object itself?

So there are other shadows?

Indeed, silhouettes can be not only black on a white background, but also white on a black background. (See Fig. 1, 2, 3)

Consider the following plot of the composition.

The great poet reads poetry to the nanny, and maybe even a fairy tale. She listens to him, sitting at the table, and knits something. The cat probably came to listen too.

- Every object, every figure - these are silhouettes, but not just in the form of shadows, but shadows that repeat the shape of objects and figures.

- Can you and I see and determine what time of day and even year the action in this composition takes place?

Outside the window you can see white silhouettes of snow-covered trees, a month and stars on a black background.

So it's winter, late evening.

And it’s unlikely that anyone will recognize this person from his silhouette image.

So this is the silhouette of the figure of the great fabulist I.A. Krylov. Big and menacing, wearing a hat and with a cane, he walks through the park.

- What season?

Silhouettes of intertwined, bare tree branches tell us about autumn.

Guys, please tell me, looking at these drawings, can you name Krylov’s fables? (See Fig. 5, 6, 7)

Let's see, what a wonderful cover E. Narbut made for the book of Krylov’s fables.

What is depicted on it in black silhouettes, and what in white? (See Fig. 8)

- Yes , These are shadows falling from objects and figures.

Remember. You are walking along a street illuminated by lanterns. What's happening to your shadow?

Why do we find it so funny when we see the shadow of our figure moving away from the lantern?

Right. The shadows lengthen and narrow.

It has nothing to do with our figure.

This means that for silhouette images, only those shadows are needed that convey the utmost resemblance to a person or object.

Let us note one more feature of the silhouette.

A black butterfly flew onto a white field. (See Figure 9)

Arrived white butterfly and sat down on a black field . (See Fig. 10)

Arrived third butterfly– multi-colored . (See Fig. 11)

- How do its wings differ from the wings of silhouette butterflies, except for color?

-At a colored butterfly The wings are detailed inside - there are veins, dots, and specks. The silhouette inside is not worked out.

Therefore, it is perceived as a stain.

Here's the whole one flock of butterflies. (See Fig. 12 )

From a distance they look like black specks.

But these are not just blots. Each butterfly has its own wing shape.

And therefore we can distinguish silhouettes from each other.

I wonder why the images in the form of shadows were called "Silhouette" and not otherwise?

-Where did this word come from?

Historical reference:

His name was Eugene de Silhouette. He was the Marquis and Minister of Finance of France, that is, he was in charge of the money of the entire country: where and what to spend it on. Silhouette was noble and rich, but few people loved him. And then one day early in the morning a newspaper came out with his portrait. The artist depicted his head in profile in the form of a shadow.

The minister had it anyway a long nose, but the artist decided to joke and drew it even longer. But the people who bought the newspapers still recognized him as their finance minister and laughed merrily, pointing their fingers at the newspaper. Silhouette images began to come into fashion. It was very expensive to order a portrait from a painter, but many people wanted to have their own portrait for a lower price. Such portraits were used to decorate the walls of rooms, offices, boxes, and jewelry.

Such images became known as “silhouettes”. This was almost 200 years ago.

- Tell me, please, why do you think people’s heads are depicted in profile and not from the front?

Because with this head position we have a better idea of ​​the person's facial features in silhouette.

And today we will try to imagine and execute the silhouette of a loved one fairy tale hero.

Please name your favorite fairy-tale characters.

Completing the task:

1. On back side Large black rectangle to draw a fairy-tale hero in profile.

2. You need to cut along the contour, starting from the side.

3. Beautifully arrange both elements obtained from a black rectangle on the sheet.

4. Stick them on. Then you get a white silhouette on a black background and a black silhouette on a white background. Write the title of the lesson.

Result: The most expressive silhouettes are noted. Exhibition of works.

Questions asked:

1. What silhouettes are there? /Black, white/.

2.Where did the word Silhouette come from? /From the name of the Minister of Finance Eugene de Silhouette/

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of N. Gumilev.

“Dry and strict, at first glance monotonous and lifeless, art captivates us with its intimacy, mysterious reticence and subtle grace. The closer you look at it, the more you are dissuaded of its “poverty” and “naivety.” Mastering the art of silhouette is not at all so easy , as it seems. The solidity of the drawing, the observance of perspective and proportionality are necessary here no less than in any picture. Despite the fact that the silhouette lies in two dimensions, and not in three, - oddly enough, the laws of three dimensions apply to it: a talented silhouette artist is able to convey in monotonous black spots both movement, relief, and even facial expression. The plane and the line that closes it acquire exceptional significance in the art of silhouette. The outline, contour, outline of the object enslave the silhouette artist’s attention, limiting it in means, but together therefore, they are forced to be especially inventive.There are silhouettes in which there is a positive sense of “sculpture”, the finest “modeling”, even “colorfulness”. Mathematical laconicism, noble abstractness of the silhouette accustoms one to the sophistication of observation and vigilance. Silhouette - as if formula and- simultaneously - a hint of the invisible, a barely perceptible story about something, a phrase begun and unfinished. But even beyond its completeness, this phrase sometimes becomes a revelation, an aphorism, a symbol.

The birthplace of silhouette art is China, where monochromatic black images, the so-called Chinese shadows, have existed for a long time. From there they penetrated into Western Europe, primarily France, where in the mid-18th century the fashion for silhouette portraits became widespread. The very term “silhouette” comes from the name of Etienne Silouette (1709-1767), who was minister of state in 1759. Silouette was known for his frugality and narrow-mindedness, which made him a target for the jokes of Parisian society. Everything cheap and trivial began to be named after him, including portraits painted in black paint or made of black paper, “portraits a la Silhouette.” Compared to real ones picturesque portraits, the silhouettes seemed boring and scanty to many. However, this art found its masters and admirers, and not only in France, but also in other countries.

F. Sido. Silhouette portrait of Empress Catherine II.

F. Sido. His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky

F. Sido. Emperor of Prussia Frederick the Great (1712-1786). Second floor. XVIII century

In Russia, our interest in silhouette arose in the era of Catherine II, when the Parisian silhouette artist Sido appeared in St. Petersburg, whose works are still preserved in some houses. Sido painted portraits of Catherine II, members of her family and many representatives of the St. Petersburg nobility. He drew his silhouettes in ink, sometimes engraved them on copper, but most often cut them out of black paper and pasted them into engraved frames. At approximately the same time as Sido, the German draftsman Anting (1753-1803) worked in St. Petersburg and released the album “Collection de cent silhouettes” in 1791.”

"Academicians", silhouette by Anting, 18th century.

In the first half of the 19th century, the “silhouette” baton was picked up by the Russian master Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy. Sculptor, medalist, draftsman and painter. Tolstoy's genre - battle scenes and episodes from folk life.

F. Tolstoy. Alexander the First on horseback.

F. Tolstoy. A man reading a book.

F. Tolstoy. Soldier.

In the middle of the 19th century, interest in silhouette art almost disappeared and cutting out silhouettes turned into the profession of itinerant artists, who earned a meager piece of bread through this activity at public festivities and fairs. People in the secular circle have lost interest in this art.

The gradually forgotten drawing of silhouettes was revived at the end of the last century by the talented German artist A. Konevka, who painted not only profile portraits in the form of silhouettes, but also figures in different poses, genre scenes etc. Konevka’s success prompted imitation. In Russia, the art of silhouette was practiced by the painter of scenes of children's and folk life, Elizaveta Bem."

E. Bem. Scenes from village life.

But the time of real revival of the art of silhouette was the beginning of the 20th century. Looking back into the past to understand the present - it was completely in the spirit of the ideas of the Silver Age. The 20th century brought new names. Nina Simonovich - Efimova, Georgy Narbut and, of course, Elizaveta Kruglikova.

N. Simonovich. Cyclamena.

N. Simonovich. Sledging.

G.Narbut. Self-portrait with family.

G. Narbut. Screensaver with a thunderstorm.

G. Narbut. And Krylov. Illustration for the title spread.

E. Kruglikova. In the workshop. Self-portrait. 1865-1941), Elizaveta Sergeevna Kruglikova is a Russian artist, master of engraving and silhouette, an outstanding teacher, and a representative of Art Nouveau.

"...The artist usually sketches the outline of a silhouette on the white side of a black sheet of paper and then uses scissors, achieving amazing virtuosity in complex compositions, requiring careful consideration of future reductions. Kruglikova created a whole gallery of silhouettes of writers, artists, actors and musicians"

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of A. Blok

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of S. Yesenin.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of V. Mayakovsky.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of B. Pasternak

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of O. Mandelstam.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of A. Bely.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of K. Balmont.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of M. Voloshin.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette from the album "Paris on the eve of the war in monotypes"

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of V. Bryusov.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of A. Akhmatova.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of M. Tsvetaeva.

E. Kruglikova Silhouette portrait of D. Burliuk

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of M. Gorky.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of I. Odoevtseva.

E. Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of M. Kuzmin.

E. Kruglikova. M. Nesterov at work.

E Kruglikova. Silhouette portrait of S. Sudeikin.

E. Kruglikova. Group portrait of E.E. Lansere, I.E. Repin and K.P. Petrov-Vodkin in the halls of the art exhibition of the World of Art association.

Having been revived, the art of silhouette no longer died. It was widely used both as an independent genre and as an applied genre. For example, “silhouette” illustrations of the classics became very famous.

B Kustodiev. Illustration for A.S. Pushkin's story "Dubrovsky"

V. Helmersen. Illustration for the novel by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin"

N. Ilyin. Illustration.

And this is the present and future of the genre - the works of V. Zhukov and A. Gusev

V. Zhukov. Silhouette.

A. Gusev. Fantasy

Dry and strict, at first glance monotonous and lifeless, art captivates us with its intimacy, mysterious reticence and subtle grace. The closer you look at him, the more you become dissuaded of his “poverty” and “naivety.” Mastering the art of silhouette is not as easy as it seems.

Solidity of drawing, respect for perspective and proportionality are necessary here no less than in any painting. Despite the fact that the silhouette lies in two dimensions, and not in three, the laws of three dimensions, oddly enough, apply to it: a talented silhouette artist knows how to convey movement, relief, and even facial expression in monotonous black spots. The plane and the line that closes it acquire exceptional significance in the art of silhouette. The outline, contour, outline of an object enslave the silhouette artist’s attention, limiting his means, but at the same time forcing him to be especially inventive. There are silhouettes in which there is a positive sense of “sculpture”, the finest “modelling”, even “colorfulness”. Mathematical laconicism, noble abstractness of the silhouette accustoms one to the sophistication of observation and vigilance. Silhouette - as if formula and- simultaneously - a hint of the invisible, a barely perceptible story about something, a phrase begun and unfinished. But even beyond its completeness, this phrase sometimes becomes a revelation, an aphorism, a symbol.
The birthplace of silhouette art is China, where monochromatic black images, the so-called Chinese shadows, have existed for a long time. From there they penetrated into Western Europe, primarily France, where in the mid-18th century the fashion for silhouette portraits became widespread. The very term “silhouette” comes from the name of Etienne Silouette (1709-1767), who was minister of state in 1759. Silouette was known for his frugality and narrow-mindedness, which made him a target for the jokes of Parisian society. Everything cheap and trivial began to be named after him, including portraits painted in black paint or made of black paper, “portraits a la Silhouette.” Compared to real picturesque portraits, silhouettes seemed boring and meager to many. However, this art found its masters and admirers, and not only in France, but also in other countries. In Germany, for example, early XIX centuries were famous for their silhouettes by Duttenhofer (depicting a series of German writers and artists), K. Schmidt, Mühlbach, etc. In Russia, our interest in silhouette arose in the era of Catherine II, when the Parisian silhouette artist Sido appeared in St. Petersburg, whose works are still preserved in some houses. Sido painted portraits of Catherine II, members of her family and many representatives of the St. Petersburg nobility. He drew his silhouettes in ink, sometimes engraved them on copper, but most often cut them out of black paper and pasted them into engraved frames. A whole collection of these silhouettes, consisting of 183 sheets, belonged to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and was published in phototype photographs in 1899 (“The Court of Empress Catherine II, her employees and associates”). The fascination with silhouette was also reflected in applied arts, - porcelain snuff boxes with silhouettes, cups, embroidery, inlays, etc. appeared. At approximately the same time as Sido, the German draftsman Anting (1753-1803) worked in St. Petersburg and released the album “Collection de cent silhouettes” in 1791. In the middle of the 19th century, interest in silhouette art almost disappeared and cutting out silhouettes turned into the profession of itinerant artists, who earned a meager piece of bread through this activity at public festivities and fairs. People in the secular circle have lost interest in this art.
Gradually forgotten, silhouette drawing was revived in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Artists began to draw in the form of silhouettes not only profile portraits, but also figures in different poses, genre scenes, etc. Perhaps there is not a single large graphics, who would not pay tribute to this intimate, graceful art. And it’s not in vain - it’s true a lot of expression can be put into “sparse” black spots.

Based on materials from an article by Erich Hollerbach

October 1922

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