Benjamin Franklin
Not on view
Popular imagery has long been disseminated through prints. After Benjamin Franklin settled in Passy in 1777, he attained great prominence among the French, and a curious and admiring populace sought his likeness. To meet this demand, a proliferation of prints was published both during and after his lifetime, many based on Duplessis’s celebrated portraits.
These nineteenth-century prints capture the spirit of the renowned polymath. The steady eyes, firm jaw, prominent forehead, and closed mouth evoke Franklin’s even temperament and iron resolution. The curves of his corpulent body are reminders that he was a man who enjoyed Parisian life.
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