Noël Le Mire
Le General Washington. Ne Quid Detrimenti capiat Res publica. Gravé d'après le Tableau Original appartenant à Mr. Marquis de la Fayette

Le General Washington. Ne Quid Detrimenti capiat Res publica. Gravé d'après le Tableau Original appartenant à Mr. Marquis de la Fayette

Public Domain

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Engraver Noël Le MireFrench, 1724–1801

Artistafter Jean-Baptiste Le Paon French, 1738–1785

Artistinspired by the portrait by Charles Willson Peale American, 1741–1827

CultureFrench

Titles

Le General Washington. Ne Quid Detrimenti capiat Res publica. Gravé d'après le Tableau Original appartenant à Mr. Marquis de la Fayette

Datec. 1785

PlaceFrance

MediumEngraving

DimensionsPlate or block: 20 × 14 3/8 in. (50.8 × 36.6 cm)
Sheet: 21 × 15 5/16 in. (53.3 × 38.9 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by Fielding L. Cocke in honor of Meredith F. Cocke at "One Great Night in November, 1997"

Object numberB.97.21

Not on view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

PRINTS

DescriptionThis print portrays George Washington as a victorious general, standing before an elaborate tent. The Black figure holding the horse probably represents Washington’s enslaved servant William Lee. The image depicts him wearing a turban, following an artistic convention that used such articles of clothing to signify and express perceptions of racial difference and identity. In the background is the Yorktown battlefield, site of the Franco-American victory that ended the American Revolution. The triumphant commander holds up copies of the "Declaration of Independence" and "Treaty of Alliance" with Great Britain, which established American independence, while treading on torn and discarded prewar documents representing the British attempts to suppress American rights and freedoms. The source of this striking portrait is a likeness by Charles Willson Peale, one of Washington's aides-de-camp. Thomas Jefferson owned the original painting while he was in Paris, and Jean-Baptiste Le Paon copied it for the Marquis de Lafayette.
Provenance[The Philadelphia Print Shop, Philadelphia]; purchased by MFAH, 1997.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Inscription: Printed, centered in lower margin: LE GÉNÉRAL WASHINGTON / Ne Quid Detrimenti capiat Res publica. / Gravé d'après le Tableau Original appartenant a Mr. Marquis de la Fayette. / Cette Estampe ce Vend avec Privilége du Roy à Paris chez le Mire Graveur rüe et porte St. Jacques. Maison de Mr. le Camus Md. de Drap. prix 12 livres.

Printed lower left below the image: Peint par L. le Paon Peintre de Bataille de S.A.S. / Mgr. le Prince de fondé
Printed lower right below image: Gravé par N. le Mire des Academies Imperiales et Royales / et de celle des Siences et Arts de Rouen

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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