Miers silhouette

A silhouette portrait set to a gold pendant by John Miers, circa 1790. Miers worked from a studio at 111 The Strand, London and is recognised as one of the finest silhouette artist of the 18th century. Silhouettes were known as ‘shades’ at the time. Clients would visit Miers’ studio and pose to have their profile executed by shadowgraph, which Miers guaranteed would take no more the five minutes. Miers’ technique required the sitter to sit completely still in a darkened room, their face close to the shadowgraph screen. The room was lit by a single candle placed in front of a mirror some distance from the screen. The candle cast a shadow onto the glass screen, behind which was a sheet of paper treated with linseed oil. The oil made the paper translucent enough for this faint shadow to be seen by the artist, seated behind the screen, who then traced a rapid outline in pencil.  Miers boasted that his compositions would never darken or fade. Over two hundred years later, the white backgrounds on his silhouettes remain as fresh as the day they were painted. This silhouette is of a gentleman wearing frock coat and lace jabot. It is signed Miers on the obverse. The pendant measures 1 and 1/4 inches by one inch and the whole is immaculate.

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Item ref : 10J1