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While 18th century engravings of George Washington are generally very rare, those produced during the period of the American Revolution are exceeding rare since they represent some of the earliest likenesses of George Washington to circulate among the public. This print is among the earliest accurate likenesses of Washington printed. The first major American artist to paint George Washington was Charles Willson Peale, one of the finest colonial portrait painters of leading figures of the American Revolution.  In all, Peale painted more than 60 paintings of Washington.  Peale painted his first full scale life portrait of Washington in 1772, prior to the Revolution. The 1772 painting features Washington in his colonel's uniform from his time in service during the French and Indian War.  Peale's second full scale portrait, commissioned in 1776 by John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, is the basis for this engraving.  Subsequent paintings of Washington done by Peale contain variations in his clothing and evidence of a more aged Washington. In 1779 the Marquis de Lafayette returned to France with a copy of Peale's 1776 painting of Washington, one of the first portraits of Washington to reach Europe. This engraving was made in Paris, France from Lafayette's portrait.

The engraver, Augustin de Saint-Aubin, was an engraver to King Louis XVI of France, and printer Charles-Nicolas Cochin was the royal printer, artist and keeper of the royal library at the Louvre.  Although this particular engraving is not dated, an engraving of Benjamin Franklin (IAS-00421) of near identical form and style, also by Saint-Aubin and Cochin, is dated 1777.  Both prints have an identical oval medallion, an identical notched name plate, identical but mirrored shadows on the medallion and name plate, identical size, and nearly identical attribution text at the bottom of the plate. The two prints are likely to have been been made as a matched pair, presented to King Louis XVI and his court, and sold in Paris to Parisians eager to see what these two famous Americans, champions of liberty in the face of British tyranny, looked like.  As royal printers to the king, Saint-Aubin and Cochin would have strived to produce the most accurate and up to date likenesses of Washington and Franklin. They undoubtedly had access to the 1776 painting that the Marquis de Lafayette brought to France in 1779, from which they produced this engraving. Thus although not explicitly dated, the attribution circa 1780 is accurate, and the print survives as one of the earliest Washington engravings--one which was produced at the height of the American Revolution. Searches for this print in the collections of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, the New York Public Library and other major institutional collections have not located any other examples of the type.

George Washington, 1772

George Washington, 1776

George Washington at Princeton, 1779


One can see, from the portraits above that the engraving is clearly based off of Peale's second full bodied portrait George Washington from 1776, and not from the later portrait George Washington at Princeton from 1779.  Note especially the buttons along the edges of Washington's coat, the more youthful appearance of his face, and the positioning of the sash cross his chest.  It's possible that this engraving of Washington even pre-dates Peale's own first Mezzotint of Washington which dates to 1780 and was based upon his 1779 painting of Washington.

 
An very rare Revolutionary War era engraving of General George Washington after Charles Willson Peale's 1776 portrait.   Media:  Engraving on Paper

Date:  c. 1780

War:  American Revolution

Type:  Engraving

Catalog Number:  IAS-00017


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