Silhouettes are traditionally also known as ‘shades’ or ‘shadows’, the latter term being particularly relevant when, as here, a silhouette has been reverse painted on convex glass and throws a shadow on to the backing card. This neatly painted portrait shows a gentleman facing left and wearing a frilled chemise and a deep stock tied in a small bow.*The silhouette sits in the original turned pear wood frame and is backed with the artist''s trade label (no. 1). The silhouette is in good condition; the frame has a couple of small chips to the outer edge that appear to be original.*William Rought (1775-1852) worked from the Cornmarket, Oxford and was by trade a wood turner (as was his father, John) and a house painter. In his late twenties he enlisted as an Ensign in the Oxford Loyal Volunteers. Unlike the militia, the Volunteers came from the upper and middle classes. He was later promoted to the rank of Captain.*Aged 49 in 1824, Rought married Sarah Hobbins from S...