Luise Duttenhofer | |
|---|---|
 Pencil drawing of Luise Duttenhofer on ivory, possibly a self portrait | |
| Born | Christiane Luise Hummel 5 April 1776 |
| Died | 16 May 1829 (aged 53) |
| Occupation | Papercutting artist |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7 |
Christiane Luise Duttenhofer (née Hummel; 5 April 1776 – 16 May 1829) was a German papercutting artist. She was raised in a middle class Protestant family, who gave her some art education but did not permit her to become a professional artist. At the age of 28, she married her cousin, the engraver Christian Duttenhofer. Three of their seven children reached adulthood. After a voyage to Rome around 1805, where they met several German artists and experienced classical antiquity, the couple moved to Stuttgart. There, Duttenhofer was in contact with the educated bourgeoisie and also met famous authors like Jean Paul and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Duttenhofer made many paper cuts, of which more than 1500 are known, including silhouette portraits that were cut freehand. She worked on a wide variety of subjects, for example landscapes, animals and ornaments. Many of her paper cuts feature mythological or religious scenes, while others depict scenes from her everyday life. Her work was shown in two exhibitions in Stuttgart during her lifetime and included in a collection of poetry that she illustrated together with her husband. Her art was largely forgotten after her death, but rediscovered in the early 20th century, when it was exhibited and reprinted multiple times.