1. The surface on which the shadow is made must be upright.
2. It must be parallel with the head of the sitter.
3. The imaginary line running from the centre of the flame to the middle of the profile must be horizontal with the surface on which the shadow is to be cast.
4. The light must be as far from the head as possible, but the surface for drawing on must be as near the head as possible.
As will be seen from the print taken from Lavater’s book, these rules were fairly accurately carried out in the chair depicted. Practical hints are also given in the treatise as to paper, light, pencils, etc. Great stress is laid on the importance of obtaining paper large enough for the drawing of the enormous modern head-dress of women, for which, sometimes, two pieces were put together. We have seen interesting examples of this, where the paper is actually joined together with the thin old-fashioned pins of the period, and life-size heads, executed in black paper, in a country house in Sussex.
“A wax light is better than tallow or suet,” this careful mentor continues, “as there is nothing so harmful as a flare, which makes the shadow tremble. If one cannot obtain a wax candle, and must use a lamp, let it be dressed with olive oil. Coughing, sneezing, or laughing are to be avoided, as such movements put the shadow out of place.”
The reduction of shadow portraits so taken is then described at length, and by various methods, “as the physiognomical expression is more piquant in a reduced silhouette.” “The best of these mechanical reducers is the Stork’s Beak or Monkey (this is our present-day pantograph), which consists of two triangles so joined by hinges that they resemble a movable square, which is fixed at one point of the base of the drawing, while a point of the larger triangle follows the outline of the life-size silhouette. A pencil attached to the smaller triangle traces the same outline smaller and with perfect accuracy. By repeating these reductions, silhouettes may be made in brooch and locket size.”
“With regard to the ornamentation and finish of the silhouette portrait, black paint should be used.” We presume this would be for the fine lines of the hair, which are sometimes added to the background after paper-cut silhouettes are mounted. Chinese or Indian ink is advised, or pine-soot, mixed with brandy, gum, or beer.
Advice is also given as to painting round the paper outline: the paint should be put on from the pencil outline towards the centre. The anonymous author suggests that two portraits should be cut at once; the first to be stuck into the family album, the second to be hung upon the wall.