The term 'silhouette' comes from Étienne de Silhouette, a French finance minister in 1759. During the Seven Years' War, France was in a severe credit crisis, and Silhouette imposed harsh economic restrictions on the wealthy. Because of his perceived stinginess, his name became synonymous with anything made cheaply. At the time, the most inexpensive way to have a portrait made was a simple profile outline cut from black paper, rather than an expensive oil painting. These 'cheap' portraits were mockingly called 'portraits à la Silhouette.' Ironically, while the minister's economic policies are largely forgotten, his name lives on as a fundamental artistic term. Silhouettes became a popular folk art form in the 18th and 19th centuries before the advent of photography, allowing common people to preserve the likeness of their loved ones for a fraction of the cost of traditional portraiture.