Portrait of Benjamin Franklin

Art Historical Context

This 1779 etching and engraving captures Benjamin Franklin during his influential years in France, where he served as a diplomat seeking support for American independence. Created as a collaborative print by Anne Rosalie Bocquet Filleul and engraver Louis Jacques Cathelin, the work belongs to the second state of two impressions, reflecting the careful refinement typical of 18th-century reproductive prints. Such techniques combined the fluid lines of etching with the precise detail of engraving, allowing artists to produce multiple high-quality images that helped spread Franklin’s likeness across Europe and the young United States. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, this portrait exemplifies how printmaking served both artistic and political purposes in the Revolutionary era. The medium’s reproducibility made Franklin’s image accessible beyond elite circles, reinforcing his status as a symbol of Enlightenment ideals and transatlantic friendship. Gifted to the museum in 1883 by William H. Huntington, the sheet remains a compelling record of how portraiture helped shape public perception of key historical figures.

About the Artist

Anne Rosalie Bocquet Filleul|Louis Jacques Cathelin (French|French) · 1752 |1739 –1794 |1804

French, Paris 1752–1794 Passy|French, Paris, 1739–1804