silhouette (n.)
A silhouette shows a figure by its outline, usually filled with a single dark color. The word comes from Étienne de Silhouette, who briefly served as France’s finance minister in 1759.1
One explanation connects the name with his unpopular economies. Cheap or spare things were mockingly described as à la Silhouette, and the name became attached to inexpensive profile portraits. Other explanations refer to his short time in office, so the precise reason for the association remains uncertain.12
The portraits themselves had practical advantages. A likeness could be cut from paper or painted quickly, cost relatively little, and travel easily in a letter. In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century America, artists worked from city studios or took their services to smaller towns. Some used a tracing device to capture and reduce the sitter’s profile.2
Photography later offered another affordable way to keep a likeness, and silhouette portraits became less fashionable. The word continued to serve whenever a person or object appeared as a dark outline.12
She recognized his silhouette at the window.