Medallion of Benjamin Franklin

Medallion of Benjamin Franklin by Jean Martin Renaud

Medium

Plaster

Dimensions

Without frame: Diam. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm)

Classification

Medallion

Department

The American Wing

Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Credit

Gift of George A. Lucas, 1902

Accession Number

02.9

Tags

Benjamin FranklinMenProfiles

Art Historical Context

This delicate plaster medallion, crafted by French artist Jean Martin Renaud around1797, captures the dignified profile of Benjamin Franklin, polymath Founding Father, inventor, and diplomat. Measuring just 3⅜ inches in diameter, it exemplifies the neoclassical taste for classical cameos and coins, rendered in low relief to evoke ancient Roman portraiture. Displayed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing, it entered the collection in 1902 as a gift from A. Lucas. Franklin's death in 1790 had sparked a wave of commemorative portraits across Europe, particularly in France where he wa...

About the Artist

Jean Martin Renaud (French) · 1746 1821

French, Sarreguemines 1746–1821 Paris

    Send Feedback