Marquis de Lafayette
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Accession Number
NPG.99.24
Tags
Art Historical Context
This evocative print, *Marquis de Lafayette*, around 1782 by French artist Nicolas Eustache Maurin (1799–1850), captures the heroic likeness of Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette—one of the American Revolution's most celebrated allies. Depicting Lafayette as a dashing military officer, the portrait features him adorned with a hat and headdress, holding a cane, set against a lush landscape with trees and a distant ship, evoking his transatlantic journey and wartime valor. Maurin's work reflects the Romantic era's fascination with revolutionary heroes, blending portraiture with symbolic...