Big Book of Silhouettes (Dover Pictorial Archive)

Over 1,700 charming images from rare sources: animals, children playing, couples embracing, men and women working, the human profile, much more. Attention-getting cuts for ads, newsletters, brochures, and art and craft projects. An ancient art form dating back to cave paintings in the Paleolithic age, silhouettes were extremely popular during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when they served as an inexpensive form of portraiture, capturing the essence of the subject with a minimum of detail. Now today's crafters, designers, artists, and illustrators can take advantage of the silhouette's eye-catching power with this splendid sourcebook, meticulously compiled by Carol Belanger Grafton. Included are over 1,700 charming, royalty-free silhouettes — culled from a number of rare sources — ideal for use in a broad range of graphic projects. Posters, signage, magazine and book illustration, advertisements, brochures, and flyers are just a few of the potential uses for the illustrations in this convenient archive. Choose from a wide array of subjects: animals portrayed in assorted poses, children playing and reading, couples embracing, views of the human profile, people working, painting, biking, and playing musical instruments; and many more. All appear in striking forms that emphasize the silhouette's power to make a simple but bold graphic statement. Silhouettes are an ancient art form dating back to cave paintings in the Paleolithic age. In the 18th and 19th centuries -- at the height of their popularity -- they served as an inexpensive form of portraiture, capturing the essence of the subject with a minimum of detail. This splendid sourcebook, meticulously compiled by Carol Belanger Grafton, reproduces scores of charming silhouettes from a number of rare sources, allowing craftworkers, designers, and commercial artists to incorporate the copyright-free designs into a diversity of projects. Over 803 motifs depict a broad range of subjects: animals engaged in a variety of activities, children playing and reading, couples embracing, the human profile and figure, and much, much more. All appear in striking forms that emphasize the silhouette's power to make a simple, yet bold, graphic statement. Over 1,700 charming silhouettes from a number of rare sources provide craftworkers, designers and commercial artists with a broad range of subjects: animals displayed in a variety of poses, children playing and reading, couples embracing, men and women working, the human profile and figure, and much more.