Kniga istorika, starshego nauchnogo sotrudnika Instituta russkogo yazyka imeni V. V. Vinogradova Rossijskoj akademii nauk Petra Druzhinina posvyashhena portretnomu siluetu — unikal′noj ikonograficheskoj technike, poluchivshej nevidannoe rasprostranenie v Evrope v poslednej treti XVIII veka. Rossiya byla ne prosto podrazhatelem obshheevropejskoj mody, no stala centrom prityazheniya luchshich chudozhnikov zhanra, stranstvuyushhich masterov so vsego sveta. Imenno Rossiya v XVIII veke perezhila podlinnyj rascvet siluetnogo portreta — vyrazitel′nogo, schozhego, dostupnogo, no vmeste s tem krajne uyazvimogo dlya vremeni i nyne sovershenno zabytogo. Sobrannyj avtorom kompleks ranee neizvestnych dokumentov po istorii russkogo siluetnogo iskusstva unikalen i mnogokratno prevyshaet vsyo kogda-libo opublikovannoe po etoj teme. Illyustracii, kotorye dayut vozmozhnost′ prosledit′ evolyuciyu silueta ne tol′ko v Rossii, no i v Evrope, sobrany s isklyuchitel′noj polnotoj iz bolee chem pyatidesyati chranilishh Rossii i mira, ot Ermitazha do Metropoliten-muzeya, prichem mnogie publikuyutsya vpervye. Izdanie adresovano vsem interesuyushhimsya istoriej russkoj i mirovoj kul′tury. This book is dedicated to the silhouette portrait — a unique representation technique, widespread in Europe and the United Kingdom in the last third of the 18th century. Russia not only followed and imitated European fashions, but also attracted the best representatives of the genre, who made this art form truly international by travelling around. It was thanks to eminent silhouette masters like Sideau and Anthing, whose art conquered Russia in the 1780s, that the genre flourished there. The silhouette portrait is very expressive, affordable and provides a good likeness, but also time-sensitive and now almost completely forgotten. Over several decades the author, historian Dr Peter Druzhinin, has collected a substantial body of previously unknown documents on the history of the silhouette portrait, a collection which is unique and entirely supersedes and previous publications. New information has been obtained mainly from European and Russian archives, as well as from a thorough combing of Russian and northern European press material. The book contains detailed biographies of Russian silhouette artists during Catherine the Great and Emperor Paul I of Russia times, as well as, in its last chapter, a dictionary of artists who either worked in Russia or came to Russia in search of an income. It is worth mentioning that many of these names are absent from other dictionaries of artists and are mentioned for the first time in the context of art history. The publication includes over 400 illustrations collected from over 50 museums and libraries fin Russia and all over the world, ranging from the Hermitage to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These illustrations will give the reader an opportunity to see the evolution of the silhouette portrait in Russia and in Europe. Many of them are published for the first time including portraits of prominent European writers, scientists and artists from Anthing travel journals, previously thought to be lost.