The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 27, 2024
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin
1777
Location: not on view
Description
Scholars debate whether Nini met Benjamin Franklin personally or based the nine versions of his portrait on drawings by artist Thomas Walpole (British, 1755-1840). In this particular cast, Nini presents Franklin with a fur hat, which may be an allusion to French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, suggesting a comparison between the inventor and the philosopher and their roles in revolutionary politics on both sides of the Atlantic. Nini copied Franklin's fur hat from a portrait of Rousseau by Allan Ramsay (Scottish, 1713-1784). The small crest below Franklin's left shoulder shows a bolt of lightning striking an iron bar held by a hand, a reference to Franklin's discovery of the lightning rod and electricity.- James Parmelee (Washington, DC), upon his death, held in trust by the estate.Estate of James Parmelee, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1940.
- Honour, Hugh. The European Vision of America: A Special Exhibition to Honor the Bicentennial of the United States, Organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art with the Collaboration of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Réunion Des Musées Nationaux, Paris. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975. cat. #204
- Rococo, Revolution, Restoration. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-September 24, 1989).The European Vision of America. National Gallery of Art (December 7, 1975-February 15, 1976); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 5-August 8, 1976); Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris, France (September 17, 1976-January 3, 1977).
- {{cite web|title=Portrait of Benjamin Franklin|url=false|author=Giovanni Battista Nini|year=1777|access-date=27 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1940.578