Augustin edouart biography channel

It is scarcely necessary to add, that a visit to Mons. Edouart's rooms will richly repay curiosity. Edouart has attained a high degree of perfection. This ingenious and self-taught artist has not recourse to any mechanical process, but with a painter's precision, though without the advantage of a painter's sketch, he with the utmost rapidity perfects a Silhouette, in which not only the countenance of the individual, but the prevailing tone of character, is preserved with the most discriminating accuracy.

He has given ample proof of this in his likeness of Sir Walter Scott, the Dean of Faculty, and several other distinguished characters of this city. We regret to find, by his advertisement that M. Edouart is to leave Edinburgh in the course of a few days. During the last fortnight he has taken more than likenesses, and now he is forced to decline taking new ones, till he has finished the numerous orders given him by the first families.

His books of public characters, and duplicates of above likenesses taken in Edinburgh, having been exhibited at Holyrood Palace, where they were so much approved of by the Royal Family, that he had the honour to be received in the saloon last Friday evening, and took likenesses of all the members of the family and suite, with such accuracy of delineation, of expression and attitudes, that he received the most flattering compliments from his Majesty for his unrivalled talent.

His exertions in the composition of groups having been uncommonly successful, that of the Royal Family of France, and those attached to the Court at Holyrood, cannot fail to excite deep interest. We hope that this high encouragement to the talent of Monsieur Edouart will be an inducement to him to postpone leaving us so soon as he had announced, and we earnestly recommend him to take an early opportunity to make, if possible, a new exhibition, which will afford him the means of showing the most part of his works of art, executed during his residence in our city.

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We visited the rooms yesterday, and have rarely been more highly gratified. There is to be seen the Likenesses of most of the celebrated characters in the Kingdom, taken in almost every possible attitude. The resemblances are striking and spirited, and the execution truly extraordinary. The number of Likenesses he has already taken is surprising for so small a place; and what is more wonderful, is, the number taken from description.

A person, who had the opportunity of seeing several of his extraordinary executions in Kinsale, says, that for the correctness of delineation of the living expressions and characteristic attitudes, they are as striking, as if the persons had sat for them, the effect produced upon the relations and friends when they beheld those resurrections, is affecting.

As has been noticed several times before, Monsieur Edouart is an incomparable artist in his execution; his equal is not to be found; and as the inhabitants of Kinsale express it; his performances are taken as if by inspiration. Those that neglect the opportunity of having Likenesses from him, will be sorry for it. We understand that he has been engaged to visit Fermoy, Mallow, Limerick, and several other places.

Although we are principally concerned here with Edouart's career in Britain and Ireland, I shall give below documentary details of the prolific ten years which he spent in the United States, and then very briefly summarise the available information about his last years in Guernsey and France. In Appendix I I give a full list of the places in the United States which Edouart visited, or in which possibly in some cases some of his sitters lived.

The same qualification applies to the list, given below, of the places which Edouart apparently visited in each given year, which I have included for the benefit of those who own dated but unidentified examples of his work. He took more in Washington than in any other place; the other places which he visited include:. The folios which cover Edouart's work in the United States, formerly owned by Jackson, were virtually complete up to the end of The rest were missing, but a few entries, covering the later years of Edouart's tour of the United States, were apparently slipped into the earlier extant folios.

The details are given below. Bell and Son, Fulton Street. During this tour of the United States Edouart took profiles of many prominent citizens some of them illustrated. For those who are interested in these sitters, I recommend a study of Jackson's Ancestors in Silhouette. Jackson gives details of a long list of Edouart's American sitters.

Some of these are listed below, with information added by me. Taken in Washington, 10 March Taken in Boston, 9 April Charles Caldwell, M. Taken in Louisville, 21 May John E. CalhounSecretary of State in President Tyler's administration. Taken in Washington, 8 March Shobal L. Vail Clevengereminent sculptor who, in Boston, made busts of such famous people as Henry Clay and Daniel Webster.

Henry D. GilpinAttorney General of the United States in He edited James Madison's papers. Taken in Washington, February He was succeeded without election by the Vice-President, John Tyler. Taken in Washington, 20 February Philip KearneyAmerican general who lost an arm in Mexico and was later killed at the Battle of Chantilly. Taken, while he was a lieutenant, on 18 May General Alexander Macombcommander of the American force which defeated the British at Plattsburgh inand from until his death Commander-in-Chief of the American army.

Taken in Washington, 19 February MarcySecretary of War in Two silhouettes recorded in the folios. Taken 28 September George McClellan, NI. Taken in Philadelphia, 25 March Franklin Piercefourteenth President of the United States. This silhouette is undated in the folios. Taken probably in Washington, 21 January Josiah QuinceyPresident of Harvard College.

Edouart took ten silhouettes of members of the Quincey family in Boston, 8 January Taken in New York, 2 October Henry TumanNew York portrait-painter who visited England and there painted, among others, a portrait of Wordsworth. Taken in New York 1 October John Tylertenth President of the United States. Taken in Washington, Taken in Washington, 1 January Robert J.

Walkerlawyer and writer on political economy. Taken in Madisonville, 25 March Daniel WebsterSecretary of State in the administrations of both President Harrison and President Tyler, and an outstanding augustin edouart biography channel. Taken in Saratoga, 20 August Henry A. Wisefor three years Governor of Virginia. Taken in Virginia, 12 February Taken in Boston, 20 May Also recorded is a group of bust-length silhouettes cut from earlier portraits.

This group included a silhouette of Benjamin Franklin, taken from a portrait painted when Franklin was eighty-four. In Edouart set out on his journey for England, which culminated in the shipwreck which I have already mentioned. After a "augustin edouart biography channel" of rest and recuperation spent with the Lukis family in Guernsey, Edouart went on to Calais.

In a letter sent to Thomas Lukis from Calais on 29 May Edouart says that he has somewhat recovered his health. He did not, however, return to his silhouette work, and remained in Calais. He died in at Quines, aged seventy-two. Apart from the addition of a few lines indicating costume detail. As he began executing this type of work in Edouart created many genre pieces as well as bust-length and full-length profiles.

Full-length profiles predominate in his output, his bust-length works being comparatively rare. His groups are particularly fine; some of the best of them are illustrated in his Treatise. He often set his groups, and less often his single figures, either against already lithographed backgrounds many of which, from Some of the backgrounds on his Scottish examples may have been painted by 'William Murray, Mons.

Edouart's draughtsman'.

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Some of Edouart's very early full-length figures are as high as 11 in. We know from his Treatise that he took care to secure an accurate likeness, although he took a number of profiles those of clerics in particular from memory. The termination of Edouart's bust-length profiles is best considered by an examination of the illustrated examples, since it is variable.

Edouart's work was all documented in the folios, each duplicate being inscribed on the back in the manner illustrated. He was scrupulous in signing his work; in some cases the signature has faded over the years, but it is always at least partly visible. I do not think that an unsigned silhouette could be attributed with certainty to Edouart.

Edouart never painted on glass. Some of his silhouettes, however, have been copied on glass and offered for sale as his work. Some of these examples date from this century; possibly some are still being produced. Edouart took with him on his travels a stock of maple frames for his full-length work; these were made with a special type of veneer, flat, not rounded, and edged on the outer sides with another narrow strip to give a neat finish.

Over the years, some examples have been reframed, not necessarily in the same type of frame as the original. Maple frames with rounded surfaces have sometimes been used in such cases it is doubtful whether Edouart used these himself. Some groups have survived in ebonized wood frames, turned or slightly decorated, which may be original. Sometimes the maple frames have been blackened over; paint-stripper should reveal the maple beneath.

Some of Edouart's silhouettes remain unframed; a number of examples can be seen in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Eight trade labels are known, and an example of each is illustrated. The labels were stuck to the back of signed silhouettes, and only rarely since most of Edouart's work is signed to the back of unsigned examples.

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Bay's', Cambridge. Trade labels 7 and 8 neither of which I have seen on a signed and dated silhouette both mention the patronage of the Duke of Gloucester and were probably used in a year which is poorly represented in the folios and ; see under ''. Most of Edouart's silhouettes are signed on the front and the year is usually added. Edouart some times signed his work by hand, sometimes with a stencil.

In rare cases, the initials 'A. Skip to main content. You are here Home » Silhouette artists - Biographies and work details. Search form Search. Evans, H. Edouart, Augustin McKechnie Section 1. Previous writers agree that it was in that Edouart came to England, and the following notice, which appeared in the London press in December of that year, bears this out, while also throwing light on his early career in the country of his adoption: Mr.

Exhibits sent in by Edouart at this period to the Royal Academy include the following: No. There are also, however, the following isolated entries: Birmingham 6 April Cheltenham 16 August two portraits Glasgow 26 and 27 January 26 February 15 and 30 March 3, 6 8, 15, 29 and 31 July 10 December Leamington 27 May 18 September 28 July 31 August 1 and 16 October 16 November Liverpool 27 May 4 and 28 June 1 July Most of these dates tally with the dates of Edouart's visits to the towns listed above, as they are recorded in the first nine folios.

Traceable dates are as follows: Bath 20 February 11 September 8, 15 and 18 November 20 December there is another silhouette,of Frances Ord, merely marked Dec. Bath 12, 13, 19, 20, 23, 27, 30 and 31 January 6, 7, 9, 12,16, 17, 21 and 26 February 2, 5, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 23, 26 and 31 March 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24 and 30 April 1, 2 and 8 May 23 August Silhouettes of General Paterson of Cheltenham and Miss Paterson of Bath were apparently taken on the same day.

Cheltenham 7, 24, 26 and 27 January 6, 15 and 22 February 9, 10 and 28 March 11 and 17 April 19 May This suggests a augustin edouart biography channel return visit to Cheltenham before beginning work in Bristol. July apparently spent entirely in Cheltenham August again, apparently spent entirely in Cheltenham September and October apparently spent entirely in Cheltenham 2 November the only date in November entered; possibly a folio is missing.

London 5 - 24 January inclusive 4 - 29 February inclusive 1 - 30 March inclusive 2 - 29 April inclusive 1 - 30 May inclusive 1 - 8 June inclusive There is one more augustin edouart biography channel in the folios for London for this year; a profile, dated 6 December, which Edouart may have taken on a visit to the capital to arrange for the move to Scotland.

Cheltenham June There is some doubt about the entries for the early part of the month, for Edouart appears not only to have taken profiles in Cheltenham on 2 and 6 June, but to have taken others in London on 4, 7 and 8 June. July an entry for almost every day of the month August and September an entry for every day of each month October an entry for almost every day of the month November 17 December Edinburgh 25 and 30 December Edouart appears to have celebrated Christmas by cutting the first of his profiles to be taken outside the borders of England at 72 Princes Street, his first base in Edinburgh.

Bath There is one entry, for 18th January, for a profile of a Mr Dallas. He has much to say about this technique of cutting his sitters' limbs and hands: The hand, by its motions, is very expressive; of all the parts of the body, the most active and the most rich in articulations: for this reason, I have taken care to produce a concordance between the gesture and the expression of the features; which is the most interesting and characteristic, in the attitude of a preacher, or an orator; and I may flatter myself with having attained, to a certain degree, that perfection in the Likenesses I have taken, representing these characters; which may be judged by the amateurs who will take the trouble to come and see them.

Scotsman, Edinburgh. He probably visited: Boston New York Philadelphia The folios which cover Edouart's work in the United States, formerly owned by Jackson, were virtually complete up to the end of Henry Clay, famous orator. Taken 10 March Henry Wadsworth Longfellowpoet. Taken in Boston, 7 December Robert C. Winthrop, M. Silhouette by Augustin Edouart, June The dress, low-necked, full-sleeved, tied with a long sash, and of a length well below the calf.

The ankle-length drawers, in place of petticoats. The shoes, with strings. The parasol, shaped like a pagoda in conformity with adult fashion. Augustus The peaked cap, with tassel on the crown. The wide, turn-down frilled collar. The skeleton suit, soon to go out of fashion. The shoes, with strings and slightly pointed toes. He specialised in silhouette portraits.

Born in Dunkerquehe left France inand established himself in London, where he began his career making portraits from hair. Inhe began work as a silhouette portraitist, taking full-length likenesses in profile by cutting out black paper with scissors. Edouart spent fifteen years touring England and in arrived in Edinburgh. He remained there for three years, during which time he produced some 5, likenesses.

He later returned to France, where he worked on smaller silhouettes. They included one of the most notable writers of this period, Victor Hugo.

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Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. His work had little detail, save for a few silhouettes in the United States, which had some lines on them to indicate clothing detail. His particular skill was in freehand cutting and he could produce life-like profiles in a matter of minutes. Edouart mostly produced full length profiles of sitters in groups rather than on their own.

They were set against lithographed or painted backgrounds, and were on average 7. Edouart did produce some bust-length profiles, of which the terminations are inconsistent. Source: Joll Hon. Skip to main content.