Silhouette

High school (ages 12+)
Art & Creativity

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/silhouette

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the historical origin?Popularized in the mid-18th century as an economical alternative to portrait miniatures
2. Why did people in the 1700s make silhouettes?They were a cheap way to have a portrait when photos didn't exist and painted pictures were expensive. Silhouette makers could cut a profile in minutes and give people a likeness.
3. How do artists use light to create a silhouette?By placing the subject in front of bright light, the outline becomes a dark shape against a bright background. Artists control the light to make the silhouette clear.

Étienne de Silhouette: French minister whose name became associated with economical art forms due to his fiscal policies.
Aesthetic: Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty; relating to the principles of art.