Lucinda Carpenter, Tweeter and Abigail Forrester - Auguste Edouart

A nineteenth-century silhouette portrait by Auguste Edouart, capturing two women in profile with a small bird in a domestic setting.

Auguste Edouart was a French silhouettist who gained popularity in Britain and America during the nineteenth century. This work depicts two women, Lucinda Carpenter and Abigail Forrester, in a domestic setting. Edouart utilised a distinctive method, cutting black paper by hand and mounting the figures onto a lithographed background that provided a sense of floorboards and wall space. This approach allowed him to capture the specific fashion of the period, including the voluminous skirts and hairstyles of the early Victorian era.

The composition is balanced, with the two figures seated in profile facing one another. The inclusion of a small bird, referred to as Tweeter, adds a narrative element to the portrait. Edouart was known for his ability to capture the likeness of his subjects through the outline alone, relying on the precision of his scissors rather than internal detail. The figures are rendered in solid black, creating a stark contrast against the aged, cream-coloured paper background.

Edouart produced thousands of these portraits during his career, often keeping duplicate copies for his own reference. His work provides a record of social history, documenting the attire and posture of individuals from various walks of life. The simplicity of the silhouette medium forces the viewer to focus on the shape and gesture of the subjects. This specific piece reflects the artist's attention to detail, from the delicate rendering of the bird to the subtle suggestion of the furniture. The aged patina of the paper adds to the historical character of the print, making it an example of the portraiture styles that preceded the widespread adoption of photography.