Silhouettes for European shadow theatre

Title	[Genevieve of Brabant and Count Sigfrid]
Place	France
Date	second half of the 18th century
Register	01957

Shadow theatre came to Europe through merchants, travellers and Jesuit missionaries, and took on the name of "Chinese shadows" due to its eastern origin. The western figures were quite different from the eastern ones: smaller, made of wood, cardboard and later also of metal, articulated and a single colour. They depicted characters from popular legends, short stories and comic scenes. One of the most successful shows was that of François-Dominique Seraphin (1747-1800), who performed at the French court in Versailles, and then in his regular theatre in Paris, first in the galleries of the Palais-Royal and later in Montmartre, where it survived until 1870. He used various types of silhouettes, with rods and threads, and even mechanisms that operated them. It featured titles that became classics such as Le Chasse aux canards, Le Magicien Rothomago, L'Embarras du ménage and Le Pont Cassé. These silhouettes, attributed to him, are accompanied by an inscription that may refer to the characters they represent, Genevieve of Brabant and her husband, Count Siegfried, protagonists of a story repeatedly narrated and staged in Europe.

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