1778 or 1779
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin
Anne-Rosalie Bocquet FilleulFrench, 1752 - 1794
Anne-Rosalie Bocquet Filleul painted this portrait of Benjamin Franklin when the two were neighbors in Passy, just outside Paris. That artist and sitter knew each other socially is evident in this casual portrait. Wearing an open-necked shirt and a green, fur-lined dressing gown, Franklin reveals a friendly and slightly vulnerable side, despite his position then as US ambassador to France. With Franklin’s eyeglasses resting on a map of Philadelphia and his open hand gesturing, it appears as if the artist and sitter are conversing.
A miniaturist and oil painter at the French court, Filleul largely ceased painting after her marriage in 1777. The artist’s close association with Marie Antoinette and the French monarchy led to her death at the guillotine in 1794.
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