Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)

Artist:Joseph Siffred Duplessis (French, Carpentras 1725–1802 Versailles)
Date:1778
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:Oval, 28 1/2 x 23 in. (72.4 x 58.4 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931

When Franklin arrived in France in December 1776 to negotiate for aid for the American revolutionary war, he was already a celebrity. His simple dress and refusal to wear a wig made an impression in intellectual circles and elsewhere. Franklin lived at Passy in a house provided by Jacques Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont who commissioned a terra-cotta medallion with his profile as well as our portrait, which was exhibited in 1779. The original frame includes the attributes of Liberty, Peace, and Victory, and is accompanied by the simple Latin inscription VIR (man).

Copyright Image
https://images.metmuseum.org