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| Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) |
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| Inscription on reverse |
Artist:Workshop of Joseph Siffred Duplessis (French, Carpentras 1725–1802 Versailles)
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:Oval, 27 5/8 x 22 1/4 in. (70.2 x 56.5 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Gift of George A. Lucas, 1895
This is a replica of the portrait exhibited at the Salon of 1779. It is inscribed (reverse, possibly by the artist, now covered by relining canvas; see Additional Images, fig. 1): Peint par Duplessis pour / obliger monsieur le vicomte / De Buissy (painted by Duplessis to oblige the vicomte de Buissy)
Catalogue Entry
For Duplessis it would have been a coup to have received from Le Ray de Chaumont a commission for a portrait of the much admired American envoy to the French court, Benjamin Franklin, sometimes referred to as "the fur-collar portrait," which was shown at the 1779 Salon and belongs to the Metropolitan Museum (32.100.132). The original was received with enthusiasm by the critics and the public alike and additional versions and copies from the artist’s workshop were sought after and collected, for the same reason that a photograph of a famous personage might be acquired today by an admirer. This is one the best of the workshop replicas.
Katharine Baetjer 2011
Copyright Image
https://images.metmuseum.org
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