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for Gilles Louis Chrétien
Gilles Louis Chrétien
French, 1754 - 1811
Person TypeIndividual
BiographyFrench silhouettist and musician. In 1784 (or 1786?) he invented physionotrace, the first mechanical means for making multiple prints of a portrait. A physionotrace is made by the use of a mechanical system that scratches a profile onto a copper plate as the operator traces a sitter's profile cast on a sheet of glass. After tracing the profile, features can be added to the plate, which is then inked and printed.