Set of White Shadows
1840s or 1850s
Medium/TechniqueCut paper; brown ink on paper; blue-paper enclosure
DimensionsEnvelope: height x width: 21.8 × 14 cm (8 9/16 × 5 1/2 in.)
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Christopher P. Monkhouse
Accession number2022.1906.1-10
On View
Not on viewClassificationsTools and equipment
Description“White shadows” were a popular domestic entertainment in the nineteenth century, and remain captivating today. With just scissors and scrap paper, a skilled artist can conjure elaborate projections that seem almost to come alive when held before a strong light. Historical and mythological figures are suddenly present in the room, brought to flickering life by the changing intensity of a candle or lamp. This group of shadows, which features writers like Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott, as well as famous political figures, including Prince Albert and the Hungarian revolutionary Lajos Kossuth, comes with a letter explaining how to use the shadows.
ProvenanceBy 2021, Christopher P. Monkhouse (b. 1947 - d. 2021), Brunswick, Maine; 2021, gift of the Estate Christopher P. Monkhouse to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 12, 2022)
Unidentified artist, American, 19th century
Unidentified artist, Netherlandish, 15th century
Unidentified artist, French, 16th century
late 15th or 16th century
Unidentified artist, American, 20th century
Unidentified artist, American, 19th century
Unidentified artist, Flemish, 17th century
17th century
Unidentified artist (monogrammist A. D.), German, 17th century
1629