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File:Benjamin Franklin 1767.jpg

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Summary

David Martin: Benjamin Franklin  wikidata:Q28797648 reasonator:Q28797648
Artist
David Martin (1737–1797)  wikidata:Q2915164
 
David Martin
Alternative names
David I Martin
Description Scottish portrait painter and engraver
Date of birth/death 1 April 1737 Edit this at Wikidata 30 December 1797 Edit this at Wikidata
Location of birth/death Anstruther Edit this at Wikidata Edinburgh Edit this at Wikidata
Work location
London (1752–1783); Rome (1755–1757); Edinburgh (1783–1797) Edit this at Wikidata
Authority file
artist QS:P170,Q2915164
image of artwork listed in title parameter on this page
Title
Portrait of Benjamin Franklin
Object type painting Edit this at Wikidata
Genre portrait Edit this at Wikidata
Depicted people Benjamin Franklin Edit this at Wikidata
Date 1767
date QS:P571,+1767-00-00T00:00:00Z/9
Medium oil on canvas
medium QS:P186,Q296955;P186,Q12321255,P518,Q861259
, mounted on panel
Dimensions height: 127.2 cm (50 in); width: 101.4 cm (39.9 in)
dimensions QS:P2048,127.2U174728
dimensions QS:P2049,101.4U174728
institution QS:P195,Q35525
Current location
Green Room
Accession number
1962.187.1 (White House) Edit this at Wikidata
Notes
English: Notes from Kloss, William, et al. Art in the White House: A Nation's Pride. Washington, D.C.: The White House Historical Association, 2008:

"[T]he portrait [of Benjamin Franklin] was commissioned by Robert Alexander, of the firm of William Alexander & Sons, Edinburgh. . . . The impressive beribboned document held by Franklin in the portrait is not a treaty or an Act of Parliament, but one of Alexander's deeds! The other books and pamphlets suggest the learned evidence brought in support of a wise man's decision. . . . [T]he bust of Isaac Newton, whose gaze is directed toward Franklin, invokes the greatest English voice of Reason. . . .
"[T]he portrait nonetheless sits squarely in the broader tradition of Enlightenment . . . . The pressure of the thumb against the chin . . . expresses the pressure of concentrated thought (the painting has sometimes been called the 'thumb portrait'), and the refracted light of Franklin's spectacles on his cheek furthers the effect."

Additional painting notes at National Portrait Gallery
Français : Traduction de notes tirées de Art in the White House: A Nation's Pride (Soit : « L'art de la maison Blanche : la fierté d'une nation ») par Kloss, William et coll.

"Le portrait [de Benjamin Franklin] a été commandé par Robert Alexander, de la firme William Alexander & Sons, à Édimbourg. L'impressionant document couvert de scellés que tient Franklin dans le portrait n'est pas un traité ni un délibéré du parlement, mais un acte notarié produit par le commanditaire...! Les autres livres suggèrent la culture nécéssaire au jugement d'un homme sage. Le buste de Newton, dont le regard est directement tourné vers Franklin, évoque l'un des sommets de la raison anglaise.

Ce portrait est fermement ancré dans la pensée des lumières. La pression du pouce sur le menton exprime la pression de la pensée concentrée, et le reflet des lunettes de Franklin sur sa pommette renforce cet effet. Pour cette raison, ce portrait a parfois été appellé « Le portrait au pouce ».
References Google Arts & Culture asset ID: bQGo937BDcwQJQ Edit this at Wikidata
Source/Photographer The White House Historical Association
Other versions http://www.whitehouseresearch.org/assetbank-whha/action/viewAsset?id=153
This is a retouched picture, which means that it has been digitally altered from its original version. Modifications: adjusted contrast.

Assessment

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Licensing

This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
Public domain

This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930.

This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.
The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".
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Captions

Benjamin Franklin by David Martin.

Items portrayed in this file

depicts

Benjamin Franklin

digital art

digital representation of

Benjamin Franklin

Commons quality assessment

Wikimedia Commons featured picture

main subject

Benjamin Franklin

media type

image/jpeg

checksum

ec9912e90797d2d4710685738e44fe9ab65aa3ad

determination method or standard: SHA-1

data size

2,669,175 byte

height

3,000 pixel

width

2,386 pixel

File history

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current03:57, 4 February 2010Thumbnail for version as of 03:57, 4 February 20102,386 × 3,000 (2.55 MB)Scewing{{Painting | Artist =David Martin <!--{{Creator:First Last}}--> | Title = {{en|''Benjamin Franklin''.}} | Year = 1767 | Technique = {{oil on canvas}} on panel | Dimensions = {{Size|cm|127.

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