Paper Cuttings
Silhouettes
Shadow Pictures
Scherenschnitte
These are all names for delicate pictures cut from paper. The art of paper cutting originated in China. From there it came to Europe. European settlers brought this folk art to Pennsylvania.
In the early days it was used to create fancy birth and baptismal certificates and to adorn love letters. Silhouette portraits (profiles cut from black paper) were popular well into the 19th century. Black cuttings were also used for book illustrations.
We offers paper cuttings that are cut by hand with scissors. Each is signed by the artist.
‘Scherenschnitte’ (pronounced shair-en-shnit-te) means ‘scissor-cuttings’ in German.
