Paper cut-outs have a long history. In 17th century Europe, many cut-outs of sacred subjects were made by monks and nuns, and were sold to visitors to convents in order to support good works from the proceeds. The Franciscan monastery of Bad Tölz in Bavaria was renowned for its "Spitzenbilder" or filigree pictures. The equivalent art in India is called Devasthanakala. At some stage the art included paper which was cut in such a way as to cast a shadow when subjected to light. Although the paper did not look particularly impressive, the shadow could have the appearance of a ghostly apparition preserved from the distant past. The present cut-out is one of these: it was offered for sale for 6d (2 and a half pence), probably for charity, and provided the purchaser with the image of Jesus Christ: the paper cut-out is shown on the left and its shadow in the right. The image of Christ was a much debated subject, with various pictures reputed to derive from an ancient likeness: the Turin shroud is the best known of these. The purchaser of a cut-out portrait of Christ would be standing at the end of a long tradition, but owing to the way in which one cut-out could be derived from an earlier one simply by tracing, the later versions would be more faithful to the template than freehand drawn copies would be
Related to a group of twelve similar works in the Victoria & Albert Museum, inventory nos. E 2400-24107/1987, including portraits of Louis XVIII, Napoleon III, and Mme Recamier. See Basil Long, "The ancient art of paper cutting", Antiques, Feb. 1931, vol. 19 (2), pp. 120-122 (information kindly supplied by Mrs Yael Hoz, 1995)
