[Benjamin Franklin]. On l'a vu desarmer les Tirans et les Dieux

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  SKU: 44484

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• ARTIST: Louis Carrogis de Carmontelle

• PUBLISHER: A Paris chez Nee rue des Francs-Bourgeois, Porte St. Michel.

• MEDIUM: Copper engraving,

  DATE: [April 1781].

• EDITION SIZE: Image size 12 1/4 x 7 5/8" (30.8 x 19.2 cm).

• DESCRIPTION: This engraved portrait of Franklin is based on a watercolor by Carmontelle. The engraving shows Franklin seated in an armchair, depicted in profile, with a natural and informal posture. Behind him is a desk, with a tricorner hat poised on the corner, atop an open book and a scroll reading “Les Loix De La Pensilvanie”. Behind him, an open window hints a port scene, with the masts of several vessels and water peeking through the window. The inscription below the print is the French rendering of Turgot’s Latin “Eripuit coelo fulmen sceptrumque tirannis”. In English, it translates to “He seized lightning from the heavens and the scepter from tyrants”. br><br> Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) is considered to be one of the greatest of all of our founding fathers. A highly intelligent man, over his lifetime he was an able scientist, a writer, printer and publisher. He was one of the most successful diplomats that the United States ever had. During the Revolutionary War, he acted as American Minister to France, successfully gaining French support for the American cause. He was also the only person who signed all four of the key documents in American history: The Declaration of Independence; The Treaty of Alliance with France; The Treaty of Peace with Great Britain; and The Constitution of the United States. <br><br>

• ADDITIONAL INFO: Framed in Black Pine frame with Sanded Spandrel. Overall framed size 19.5 x 14 inches.

• CONDITION: Very good condition.

• REFERENCE: Sellers, Carmontelle 2, pl. 28.

• CATEGORIES: 18th-19th Century Subjects , Portraits , Revolutionary War Figures