Apotheosis of George Washington
Attributed to Etienne Pallière French
Subject George Washington American
Not on view
This large chalk drawing is one of two attributed to Pallière in The Met collection. They likely served as preparatory studies for an allegorical work that has not survived, created perhaps for a commemorative ceremony in Paris soon after the president’s death. Victory carries Washington into heaven while Fame, depicted twice, announces his accomplishments by trumpet and inscribes them on a pillar. At right the god Zeus’s chains have been loosened. Mourning figures on the left represent the Monarchy, Liberty, America, and Atropos, the Fate said to cut the thread of life. America, ambiguous in gender and wearing a feather skirt and headdress, bears a physiognomic resemblance to Native Americans.
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