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Before the age of the photograph, the silhouette, either cut from paper or painted, was the most affordable portrait that could be made. The art enjoyed a golden age in the second half of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries, when many people collected them. Although silhouettes were well-loved, the man for whom they were named was not: Étienne de Silhouette was France's finance minister under Louis XV and was notorious for both his frugality and his hobby of making cut-paper shadow portraits. The phrase à la Silhouette came to mean "on the cheap," and portraits like the ones he produced were (satirically) bestowed with his name as well.
Synonyms
Examples of silhouette in a Sentence
Madeline Fass, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2024
This capsule also debuts Kith’s first-ever Numeric 480 silhouette and Made in U.K. 991v2.
—Essence, 4 Nov. 2024
Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Oct. 2024
From Queens, bright golden and orange exploding orbs could be seen silhouetting the Empire State Building, itself lit up in red, white and blue.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune, 5 July 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near silhouette
Cite this Entry
“Silhouette.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silhouette. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
silhouette
1 of 2 noun
silhouette
2 of 2 verb
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