Portrait of Benjamin Franklin 1780 - 1827

Jean-Baptiste-François Bosio created this ink and wash drawing portraying Benjamin Franklin. Bosio's drawing offers a window into the life and times of one of America's most celebrated figures, capturing a slice of 18th-century intellectual life. Consider how Franklin, who rose from humble beginnings as a printer's apprentice to become a statesman, scientist, and philosopher, embodies the ideals of the Enlightenment. The items surrounding Franklin—the quill pen, books, and rolled documents—speak to his identity as a scholar and a man of letters. The window and domestic features seem to position Franklin within a comfortable, upper-class setting, far removed from his more modest origins. Bosio’s delicate rendering of Franklin’s contemplative pose seems to ask: how are identities shaped by both personal history and public perception? What does it mean to portray a revolutionary figure in a moment of quiet reflection?