Reverend Gorham D. Abbott 1842

Editor: We’re looking at “Reverend Gorham D. Abbott,” a silhouette created around 1842 by Auguste Edouart. It’s made with cut paper, which is pretty fascinating. There’s something haunting about a silhouette—the missing detail, the starkness... it's quite different from photography. What jumps out at you when you see this piece? Curator: Oh, the world of silhouettes! Edouart really captured a moment in time, didn't he? Imagine the meticulous hand needed to cut that precise outline of the Reverend and that tiny paper he is holding! For me, there's a shadow-puppet play feel to it. It evokes an era when capturing a likeness was a unique occasion. He’s frozen in mid-speech, perhaps? It's as if he is offering the Gospel to the world! Don't you feel drawn into his narrative through this deceptively simple form? Editor: Absolutely! That gesture with his hands… It’s open and welcoming, but also feels like he's making an important pronouncement. Curator: Exactly. The stark black figure against the off-white background directs the viewer's attention precisely to that point. But is it a pronouncement, or a humble offering? Maybe the beauty lies in that ambiguity. It's remarkable how much emotion can be evoked with so little detail, wouldn’t you agree? I see something quietly theatrical—as though the world were Abbott's stage. Editor: I agree. That feeling is emphasized by the faceless rendering and by what looks like writing in that paper. It creates an intriguing blend of presence and absence, making us wonder about the whole story beyond what is rendered by the cutting of paper. Curator: Precisely! The theatre of faith and self, presented in a shadow. Think about how people understood "image" before photography consumed all other visual arts media. What a different world of portraiture! What do you think we lose, and gain, with photographic portraits versus silhouette likenesses? Editor: Well, this really gets you thinking. Thanks! Curator: The pleasure was all mine.