Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Inc.

John James Barralet and the Apotheosis of George Washington

Author(s): Phoebe Lloyd Jacobs
Source: Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 12 (1977), pp. 115-137
Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Henry Francis du Pont
Winterthur Museum, Inc.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1180583
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 John James Barralet
and the Apotheosis
George Washington
PhoebeLloydJacobs
N JANUARY 1802 John James Barralet (ca.
1747-1815) honored the late GeorgeWashington
in a commemorative engraving (Fig. 1). Bar-
ralet'sengraving shows the president, dressedin grave
clothes, being raised from his tomb by Immortality
and the winged FatherTime who will assist him in his
ascent. Faith, Hope, and Charity are clustered
together at the far left. Liberty, her cap atop a pole,
and an American Indian share the lower registerwith
two rattlesnakes and an eagle. In the nineteenth
century this engraving was popular enough to go
through four printings,1 yet to most modern
viewers this image is what hieroglyphics were to
This study would not have been possible without the contri-
butions made by others. William Gerdts, when I was a tyro in
a new field, encouraged me and gave me the benefit of his
knowledge. Elizabeth Roth and Roberta Waddell never failed to
answermy many queriesand to make the facilities of the New York
LibraryPrint Room available to me. Davida Deutsch generously
shared informationabout advertisements for Barralet'sengraving
before the publication of her own article in Antiques,in press,
on memorial celebrations for Washington in 1800. David Kiehl,
too, deservesspecial mention. I also wish to thank Leo Steinberg,
Liesl Feitelberg, Barbara Weinberg, and Mary Cope. I am espe-
cially gratefulto my husband, WilliamJacobs, forpatiently reading
over this manuscript and advising me. And no author could have
been better served by her editors. The engraving of the apotheosis
of Washington exists in four different states. State 1. Inscription:
[on tomb] Sacred / to the Memory of / Washington / OB 14 Dec
A) 1799 E t 68. / Signature: [on lid of tomb] I.J. Barralet / Fecit
[below engraving] Philadelphia Published by Simon Chaudron,
and John J. Barralet, Jany 1802. State 2. Signature: [below
engraving] Drawn and-Engraved by J. J. Barralet. Published
22nd Feby 1816 by B. Tanner Engraver No. 74 South Eighth
Street. State 3. Same as 2 with 2 lines added: Commemoration of
Washington. / Printed by Cammeyer and Acock. State 4. Address
and printer'sline erased (David McNeely Stauffer, AmericanEngra-
versuponCopperand Steel,2 vols. [New York: Grolier Club, 1907],
1:22, no. 118); the Print Room of the New York Public Library
has six copies that include examples of all four states.
of
Europeansbefore the discovery of the Rosetta Stone:
intriguing to contemplate but indecipherable.
A nineteenth century American populace educated
in the traditionsof European humanism knew how to
interpret allegorical imagery. Symbolic figures with
referencesto classical antiquity or the Christian past
were common. They adorned political engravings,
honorary medals, coins, official seals, and even the
corners of maps.2 Learned men expected sophisti-
cated visual references. The artists, schooled in
the conventions of European humanism, acted as
intermediariesto the less well educated public. When
askedto stage paradesand festivalscelebrating events
of historicsignificance in the new republic, they often
used allegorical figures and decorated triumphal
arches with classical images.
Citizens of the new republic would have found
incongruous Ralph Waldo Emerson's later pro-
nouncement: "Give me insight into today and you
may have the antique.... I embrace the common ...
and sit at the feet of the familiar." In the federal
era the antique was the familiar. It was used to rein-
force the significance of contemporary life. Barralet's
engraving would have seemed neither unusual nor
uncommon.
Barralet was- only one of the many who com-
memorated Washington's death, and not all works
honored the great leader's memory through allegory.
Some portrayed the actual event. One simple engra-
ving published in 1800 by Pember and Luzarder
depicted Washington attended by his doctors,James
2 See
especially Neil Harris, The Artist in AmericanSociety(1966;
reprint ed., New York: Clarion Book, 1970), ch. 1; Frank H.
Sommer, "Emblem and Device: The Origin of the Great Seal of
the United States,"ArtQuarterly 24, no. 1 (Spring 1961): 57-76. See
also nn. 14, 17, 18, and 21.
116 WinterthurPortfolio 12

Fig. 1. John James Barralet, Apotheosis of George Washington. Published by Simon Chaudron and Barralet, Philadelphia,
Jan. 1802. Proof before letters. Stipple engraving; H. 24", W. 18 1/2". (Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of William
H. Huntington, 1883.)
JohnJamesBarraletandtheApotheosisof GeorgeWashington
f/MA/
.M, -.r/-s / /2
t/y.Mi/ jt o/ft .'/,i rt/y
;
p /iw/l
Fig. 2. G. Washington in his last Illness attended by Docrs.
Craik and Brown. Published by Pember and Luzarder,
Philadelphia, 1800. Etching tinted with watercolor; H. 11
1/2", W. 9 3/8". (Winterthur 59.46.2.)
Craik and Gustavus Brown (Fig. 2). The verse below
stated that Washington "now is departing unto the
realms above," but the artist was satisfied to represent
an emaciated Washington on his deathbed. A mourn-
ing handkerchief carried a similar scene accompanied
by a brief description of Washington's death. The
president, after a short illness of thirty hours, had died
"in the full Possession of all his Fame, like a Christian
and an Hero, calm and collected, without a groan and
without a sigh."3
Tobias Lear, Washington's Harvard-educated sec-
retary, left a detailed account of the late president's
death and burial. According to Lear, Washington
went outside on a cold, wet December afternoon,
caught cold, and the next morning complained of a
3 Charles Henry Hart, Catalogue of the EngravedPortraitsof Wash-
ington(New York: Grolier Club, 1904), no. 644A. The inscrip-
tion below the engravingreads:"Americans behold & shed a grate-
ful Tear / Fora man who has gained yor freedom most dear / And
now is departing unto the realms above / Where he may ever
rest in lasting peace & love." One copy of the cotton kerchief
that was printed in Glasgow in 1800 is in the Print Room of the
New York Public Library. The somewhat lengthy and laudatory
text, which encircles the death scene, describes Washington's ac-
complishments as well as his last illness.
117
very sore throat. The doctors could do nothing effec-
tive to relieve his increasing discomfort. Washington
died the following day, December 14, 1799. At his
bedsidewere Lear, the doctors,members of the family
and servants but no clergy.4
AfterWashington'sdeath his body was measured-
he was 6 feet 3 1/2 inches tall, 1 foot 9 inches
across the shoulders-and a mahogany coffin with a
cover of lead was orderedto size. On December 17 he
was interred in the family vault at Mount Vernon.
His body was undisturbed when the family vault was
vandalized in 1830 and was moved to a new family
vault the following year. Historian Benson J. Lossing
viewed the body at that time: "The eye-sockets
were large and deep, and the breadth across the
temples,togetherwith the forehead,appeared of unu-
sual size. There was no appearance of grave-clothes;
the chest was broad, the color was dark, and had the
appearanceof dried flesh and skin adhering closely to
the bones."5
W / The extensive accounts of Lear and Lossing were
not published until later in the nineteenth century,
butcontemporarynewspaperarticlesprovidedenough
informationfor any artistwho wished to depict Wash-
ington'sdeathbed scene.His attending physicians had
prepareda signed statementdescribingthe president's
last hours in technical detail, and their account was
publishedin theAlexandria (Virginia) Times,December
19, 1799.6
Barralet,however,did not concern himself with any
factual aspects of Washington's death. He had a
knowledge of European allegorical and traditional
religiousrepresentationsthat he meant to put to use in
America, and there were many Americans in the
nineteenthcentury who were attracted to his interpre-
tation of the subject.
John James Barralet, an Irishman of French
Tobias Lear, Last Wordsof GeneralWashington(Philadelphia,
1892); pp. 1-4.
5Benson J. Lossing as quoted in Chester Hale Sipe, Mount
Vernon andthe Washington Family(Butler, Pa.: Ziegler Printing Co.,
1925), pp. 81-85.
6The report begins: "Some time in the night of Friday, the
13th inst., having been exposed to rain on the preceding day, Gen-
eral Washington was attacked with an inflammatory affection of
the upper part of the windpipe, called in technical language,
cynanche trachealis. The disease commenced with a violent ague,
accompanied with some pain in the upper and fore part of the
throat,a sense of stricture in the same part, a cough, and a difficult
rather than painful deglutition, which were soon succeeded
by fever and a quick and laborious respiration"(Douglas Southall
Freeman, GeorgeWashington, 7 vols. [New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1957] 7:640-41).
118
descent, studied under James Mannin in the Dublin
Society's school and later taught art in Dublin. By
1770 he had moved to London and begun teaching.
Between 1770 and 1776 he exhibited drawings whose
subjectswere drawn from the common stock of neo-
classical themes at the Royal Academy. Returning to
Ireland as temporary master in the school during
James Mannin's illness, he failed to receive a perma-
nent appointment when Mannin died, but he
remainedin Ireland for the next fifteen years. In 1795
Barraletimmigrated to Philadelphia, where he spent
his last twenty years.There he became involved in the
activities of the Philadelphia emigre community.
Barraletand artistDenis A. Volozan were elected pro-
fessorsof the recently founded Society of Artists of the
United Statesin 1812. The antique classeswere placed
under his direction.7
During his years in America, Barralet illustrated
books,engravedcommercial formssuch as trade cards
and stockshares,and designed large single engravings
for sale. His work covered a wide range of subjects,
selected with an American audience in mind. One
drawing, the First Landingof Columbus, won Barralet
acclaim when it was exhibited at the Pennsylvania
Academy. But in America he seems to have been just
successfulenough in attracting purchasersto maintain
himself. Nevertheless, although he was sometimes
short of firewood, clothing, and food for his two
motherlesschildren, he perseveredas an artist to the
end.8
William Dunlap, whose important early account of
7 Walter George Strickland, A Dictionary of Irish Artists, 2 vols.
(New York: Hacker Art Books, 1968), 1: 25-27, lists the subjects
exhibited at the Royal Academy as A Storm,Sunset,Ruins, 1770;
two classicalsubjects and "two views of Garrick'sHouse," 1771; a
full-length drawing of a gentleman and two classical subjects,
1772;A ManagedHorse,1773; a woman bathing, and "two subjects
from Beaumont and Fletcher," 1776. Barralet also "drew land-
scapes in Italian chalk" in the manner of Vernet and set up two
drawingacademies, one in James's Street, Golden Square, and the
otherat 24 St. Alban's Street, Pall Mall, during his stay in London.
After Barraletreturned to Ireland, he also produced book illustra-
tions and painted scenery for a local theater. David Sellin, "Denis
A. Volozan, Philadelphia Neoclassicist," Winterthur
Portfolio4, ed.
Richard K. Doud (Winterthur, Del.: Henry Francis du Pont
Winterthur Museum, 1965), pp. 121-23. A wash drawing in the
collection of the Metropolitan Museum (61.672) titled Wisdom
and TruthleadingtheInfantArts to Americaand signed J. J. Barralet
may have been designed for use by the Society of Artists.
8 The
largest holding of Barralet's work in America that I was
able to discover is in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania,
and consists of engravings after Barralet's designs. There are six
historical and allegorical works: Americaguidedby Wisdom,an alle-
of the UnitedStates;Apotheosisof Washington,He
goricalrepresentation
spoke,and it again thundered.. .; Thefirst landingof Columbusin the
new world; Launchof the steam Frigate Fulton the First; and a
Winterthur
Portfolio12
artists has made him a kind of American Vasari,
describesBarralet at work. Drawing his information
from other engraverswho had known Barralet, Dun-
lap characterizedhim as "having all the volatility of
Franceunited with Hibernian prodigality and eccen-
tricity. He was a man of talent without discretion or
any thing like common prudence; prodigally gener-
ous and graspingly poor." From what Dunlap could
gather, Barralet had been considered an artist of
promise in Ireland. As he grew older, Barralet took
large quantities of snuff while working and was
known to be irascible. At one point the beleaguered
artist requested the French general Jean Victor
Moreau to sit for his portrait.The general agreed and
during his sitting Barralet was interrupted by cries
and sobs coming from a closet. He had locked up his
own children to keep them out of the way of his sitter.
He opened the door to ask his little "torments"what
they wanted. "Bread!" they cried. He complied and
locked them up again.9 Interestingly, this Irishman
who appeared to his contemporaries so eccentric in
his personal behavior did not break with established
artistic conventions. Rather, he insisted upon them.
This insistence is particularly apparent in his por-
trayals of George Washington.
In the last part of his careerBarraletoften turned to
Washingtonas a subject. It was then a common prac-
tice for engraversto copy portraitsof prominent men
done by other artists, and Barralet was no exception.
But he embellished the Washington portraits with
decorationsdrawn from the vocabulary of forms he
had learned in Europe. In one Washington portrait
based on a miniature by Walter Robertson, Barralet's
decorationsconsistedof standard classical devices like
a laurel wreath, an eagle, a liberty cap balanced on
the point of a sword,flags, and palm branches (Fig. 3).
Another Washington engraving after a painting by
Gilbert Stuart was decorated with a knight's
helmet, sword, and baton. To an engraving after a
miniature by John Ramage he added Liberty. She
sits between an eagle and a cornucopia and holds her
cap aloft upon the tip of her sword.1?
representation of Peter Francisco's action with the Tarleton
cavalry in Virginia in 1781. There are two engraved portraits of
Washington,six views of Centre Square, and one of Market Street,
Philadelphia. In addition there are an advertising design, design
for a trade card, and engraved certificates for shares of stock in
the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Welsh Society,
and the Hibernian Society.
9William Dunlap, A Historyof the Rise and
Progressof The Arts
of Designin the UnitedStates,3 vols. (1834; reprint ed., New York:
Dover Publications, 1969), 2, pt. 1: 42-45.
0
Hart, Portraitsof Washington,no. 249: Inscribed "Jon. Jas.
Barralet-Invenit1795. / Painted by W. Robertson.-Engrav'd by
John James Barralet and the Apotheosis of GeorgeWashington
Fig. 3. John James Barralet, after Walter Robertson
GeorgeWashington, Presidentof the UnitedStates. Published
by RobertField, Philadelphia and New York, Aug. 1, 1795.
Stipple engraving; H. 7 9/16", W. 9 1/16." (Metropolitan
Museum of Art, bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924.)
General Washington's resignation provided Bar-
ralet another opportunity for embellishment. His
version of the event, designed in 1799, offers viewers a
glimpse of Washington meeting with the goddess of
peace (Fig. 4). Washington stands on high steps near
the goddess and her burning altar with Mount Vernon
and a partially plowed field in the distance. At his feet
are the discarded plumed helmet, sword, and baton of
a knight. The goddess holds his written resignation in
her hand. Eagle, shield, and cornucopia, symbols of
the new nation and its prosperity, fill the bottom
ground. The composition at once paired the actions of
Washington with those of the selfless Roman patriot
Cincinnatus. 1
For the many allegorical devices Barralet un-
R Field. / GeorgeWashington, / President of the United States. /
Published by Walter Robertson, Philadelphia & New York 1st.
August 1795"; no. 409: inscribed "G. Washington / Barralet
Direxit.-Lawson sc / Publish'd by R. Campbell and Co / From
a Copy Painted by J. Paul"; no. 212: inscribed "J. J. Baralet
del.-H. Houston sculpt / General-Washington, / President of
the-United States of / America."
n no. 776: inscribed "Barralet Invt
Hart, Portraitsof Washington,
&Direxit-LawsonSculp / GeneralWashington's / Resignation. /
119
GEIfERL WAS
r-ING O .A
GENERAL WAS3HINGT ON S
RE SIGAT IO N.
Fig. 4. Alexander Lawson after John James Barralet,
GeneralWashington'sResignation.Published by B. Davies,
Philadelphia, Feb. 1, 1799. From Philadelphia Monthly
Magazine,Jan. 1799. Engraving; H. 7", W. 3 15/16".
(Metropolitan Museum of Art, bequest of Charles Allen
Munn, 1924.)
doubtedly referred to that most widely circulated of
all handbooks of iconographical imagery, Cesare
Ripa's Iconologia.The Iconologiawas first published at
the end of the sixteenth century when it was widely
believed that painting, like poetry, should convey
complicated meanings. Drawing upon sources as
diverse as ancient sculpture and medals, the writings
of ancient Greek and Roman authors, church fathers,
Published by B. Davies Philada 1st Feby 1799."Cincinnatus was
a retired Roman Consul who in 458 B.C. at the urging of
his countrymen, led the Romans against enemies then threatening
their city. The Romans were victorious. Cincinnatus then resigned
his dictatorship and retired to his home and fields.
120
Fig. 5. Peace. From George Richardson, Iconology;or, A
Collection of Emblematical Figures . . ., 2 vols. (London:
G. Scott, 1779), 2: pl. 64, fig. 245, opp. p. 30. (Winterthur
Museum Libraries.)
and contemporary scholars who were attempting to
decode hieroglyphics, Ripa systematized for genera-
tions of artists the way in which an image could
represent an idea. 1
After the publication of the Iconologia artists who
chose to use allegorical figures had a common source.
Most artists, including Barralet, modified the source
but not so much that the figures could not be traced
back to their common ancestor. Ripa had explained
that Peace should be shown burning weapons because
that is how she appeared on Roman coins during the
Pax Romana. In the IconologiaPeace puts her torch to
the weapons and garb of war (Fig. 5). The cornucopia
2Emile Male discusses the importance and influence of the
Iconologia"Les Survivances du Passe Persistance de L'Esprit
du XVI Siecle. L'Allegorie,"L'ArtReligieuxapesle Concilede Trente
(Paris:LibrairieArmand Colin, 1932), pp. 383-428. See also E. H.
Gombrich,"IconesSymbolicae,"Symbolic Images(London: Phaidon
Press, 1972), pp. 123-91. For a discussion of the Italian, German,
French,English,and Spanish editions of the Iconologia,see Edward
A. Maser'sintroduction to the Hertel edition reprinted as Baroque
andRococoPictorialImagery(1758-60; reprint ed., New York: Dover
Publications, 1971), pp. viii-xi.
WinterthurPortfolio 12
Fig. 6. Patriotism.From George Richardson, Iconology;or,
A Collection of Emblematical Figures . . ., 2 vols. (London:
G. Scott, 1779), 2: pl. 73, fig. 281, opp. p. 52. (Winterthur
Museum Libraries.)
in her left arm speaks for the advantages of peace.
Barralet rearranged these devices. The cornucopia is
placed at the bottom of the steps and is protected by
the eagle; the fire is confined to a brazier. In Barralet's
composition Washington himself is allegorized. Wash-
ington, a personification of Love of Country (Fig. 6),
is placed in proximity to the weapons and a burning
brazier as Ripa had suggested.
Barralet's GeneralWashington'sResignationduplicates
in some details a tableau worked out by Charles
Willson Peale for the city of Philadelphia. When, in
November of 1783, the city fathers wanted to celebrate
the occasion of Washington's resignation of his
military commission and the peace treaty with
Britain, they commissioned Peale to construct a tri-
umphal arch. On one pedestal of the arch Peale depic-
ted Washington as Cincinnatus crowned with laurel
returning to a laurel-wreathed plough. To strengthen
the identification with Republican Rome, Peale
placed the letters S P Q P-Senatus PopulusquePennsyl-
vanius-over the spandrel of the central arch. In the
spectacle planned for the celebration, a gigantic figure
of Peace, bearing a torch, was to appear above the
John James Barralet and the Apotheosis of GeorgeWashington
Fig. 7. Benjamin Tanner after John James Barralet, America Guided by Wisdom. Philadelphia,
H. 17 1/4", W. 23 1/2". (Winterthur 58.23.1.)
arch. At her signal a burst of rockets was to be fired
into the sky. Unfortunately a prematurely fired rocket
set the whole arch, which was made of paper and cloth
that were oiled and varnished, aflame. Barralet,
restaging the resignation for his composition in 1799,
conceived a different scenario. He relegated the fire to
a brazier and, cognizant of the still-popular belief that
Washington was an American Cincinnatus, he placed
a yoked oxen team and plough on the fields in front of
Mount Vernon.13
13For a full description of this tableau, see Charles Coleman
Sellers, The Artist of the Revolution:The Early Life of Charles
WillsonPeale(Hebron, Conn.: Feather & Good, 1939), pp. 226-31.
Hart observes:"Ttis print is said to be from a painting by Charles
WillsonPeale, exhibited at an entertainment given to Washington,
by the citizens of Philadelphia, upon his retirement from the
Presidency,March 4th, 1797,"Portraitsof Washington, no. 776). The
engravingseems to relate rather to Peale's entertainment of 1783
and is entitled GeneralWashington'sResignation.There is no way
of establishingwhether Barralet'scomposition is after a painting by
Peale. However, this is the kind of allegorical representation
Barraletexcelled in, and the knight's helmet and cornucopia are
examples of the kind of devices he often used.
121
1820. Engraving;
Barralet applied allegorical depictions to represen-
tations of other American subjects besides Washing-
ton. In a late engraving entitled America Guided by
Wisdom:an allegorical representationof the United States
denotingtheirIndependence andProsperity,he seemed deter-
mined to impress upon his American audience the
wisdom of Horace's maxim sapere est principiumetfons
(Fig. 7). Dividing his composition into "fore ground,"
"second ground," and "third ground," he explained
each in an elaborate gloss. In the foreground Minerva,
the goddess of wisdom, stands next to the seated
America, who holds a shield bearing the arms of the
United States. At the feet of America is a cornucopia
filled to overflowing with indigenous produce. The
message is clear: the genius of an independent America
guided by Wisdom will bring the nation to prosperity.
Descended as he was from a European tradition
that conceived of the artist as a learned man, Barralet
was sympathetic to the promotion of the liberal arts in
America. He allotted space in the middle ground for
its depiction. The placement of an equestrian statue of
122
Fig. 8. John James Barralet, ScienceUnveilingbeautiesof Natureto the Geniusof America.Probably Philadelphia, 1814. Wash
drawing; H. 11", W. 16 1/2". (Prints Division, New York Public Library.)
Fig. 9. Nature.From George Richardson, Iconology;or, A
Collection of Emblematical Figures . . ., 2 vols. (London:
G. Scott, 1779), 2: pl. 53, opp. p. 5. (Winterthur Museum
Libraries.)
WintrtthurPortfolio 12
Washington in front of the triumphal arch, he
informed the viewer, illustrated the progress of the
liberal arts. However well-intented Barralet's mes-
sage, without the text the meaning is ambiguous. A
cursory glance at the design could leave the impression
that Barralet was celebrating Washington's military
victories rather than the peacetime artistic pursuits of
a civilized nation. By comparison, the meaning of the
background is almost self-evident. Its design reinforces
the concept that in the wisely guided nation commer-
cial and agricultural manufacturers will thrive.
Mercury, personifying Commerce, rests one foot on
manufactured goods and gestures toward ships in the
harbor, which represent the advantages of trade and
navigation. Behind Ceres, the goddess of agriculture,
are a beehive and a woman at a spinning wheel,
both emblematic of domestic industry.
This kind of explicit analysis from the artist would
be welcomed in the case of an untitled allegorical
work of 1814. The assembled figures in the tinted
drawing (Fig. 8) can be deciphered, however, with the
aid of Ripa and a catalog entry of the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts. A four-breated goddess holds
the center of the composition. She is approached by a
John James Barralet and the Apotheosis of George Washington
winged goddesswho lifts her veil. To the left Barralet
placed the plumed goddess who personified America
in AmericaGuidedby Wisdom.He equipped her with
Minerva'sspear and positioned the rampant eagle at
her side. Surroundingher is a collection of indigenous
flora and fauna. Behind this assembly, the arc of
Niagara Falls acts as Nature's backdrop. The winged
goddesscharacterizesScience. Ripa had ordained that
Science be representedby a woman with wings on her
head because the intellect must be elevated to its
study. Barraletchose to place the wings on her back
instead.Ripa also had suggesteda multibreastedherm
to representNature, the source of all life (Fig. 9), but
Barralet limited Nature to four breasts. He selected
from the Iconologiathe feminine personifications of
Science and Nature and added three small children,
an Indian mother, and her papoose to offer
up a paean to female fecundity with American allu-
sions under the allegorical title Scienceunveilingthe
beautiesof natureto the Geniusof America.14
Barralet'senthusiastic use of Ripa's Iconologiawas
not unusual for a European-trained artist. The sub-
scriptionlist for the first English edition, published in
1779, had included Sir Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin
West, Paul Sandby, Edward Penny, and Antonio
Zucchi. Surely Mannin, Barralet's teacher in the
Dublin Society's school, was familiar with the Icono-
logia. Even Dublin's stuccodores applied Ripa's
imagery to the plaster decoration of Dublin's ceil-
ings.15
After the middle of the eighteenth century, how-
ever, some Europeans had begun questioning the
validity of conveying complex meanings by the use of
Ripa'sallegoricalgarnish. No less preeminent a figure
than the critic Johann Winckelmann signaled his
exasperation:"I am surethat if he [Ripa] had thought
of the Italian adage pisciarenel vaglioto mean waste
of time and labor, he would have expressed even this
pretty thought through figures." James Barry, a
historypainterwho, like Barralet,left Ireland to follow
his profession,had a more emphatic way of expressing
'4Anna Wells Rutledge, ed., CumulativeRecordof Exhibition
Catalogues,The PennsylvaniaAcademyof the Fine Arts, 1807-1870
(Philadelphia:American Philosophical Society, 1955), no. 242; the
year before, 1813,Barralethad exhibited another related work, the
Genius of America (no. 39, tinted drawing). E. McClung Fleming
discussesBarralet'splumed Greek goddess in "From Indian Prin-
cess to Greek Goddess, the American Image, 1783-1815,"
Winterthur Portfolio3, ed. Milo M. Naeve (Winterthur, Del.: Henry
Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1967), p. 50.
5Ann Hope, "Cesare Ripa's Iconology and the Neoclassical
Movement," Supplement of the ApolloMagazine(Oct. 1967): 1-2;
C. P. Curran, "Cesare Ripa and the Dublin Stuccodores," Studies,
An Irish Quarterly Review28, no. 110 (June 1939): 237-48.
123
the matter: "from the jargon of far-fetched and over
refined allegory what must be said then of Ripa and
others who have been at the pains of raking together
all this offal of the imagination."16
But in America artists faced the very immediate
problem of devising a rhetorical language through
imageryto proclaim the new heroesof the Revolution.
When allegorycould suggest,by effecting a thorough-
going transformation, that antique precedent and
contemporary incident were as one, then it was wel-
comed by artists.In his generation Barralet was unu-
sual for the number of allegorical compositions he
designed, but he was not the only artist to design
them. '1
The climate in America could hardly have been
more propitious for commemorating Washington's
death in antique guise using allegorical figures.When
Barraletdesigned his engraving, he chose the form of
the apotheosis in which a great man ascends Mount
Olympus to join the pantheon of Greek gods and
heroes.To complete his composition, Barraletselected
allegorical figures with established iconographical
pedigrees:Liberty, Father Time, Immortality, Faith,
Hope, Charity, and the American Indian.
Liberty and Father Time had roots deep in Euro-
pean culture. Liberty had been used on the coins and
medals of the Roman Empire. Ripa, ever ready with
advice for the artists of his time, had suggested that
Libertyhold a brokenyoke and be accompanied by a
cat (Fig. 10). A cat, he pointed out, was appropriate
becauseno other animal loved freedom so much. Most
artists,however,ignored Ripa; Barraletwas no excep-
tion. Barralet'sLiberty merely has the rudisand pileus,
the rod of touch and cap of announcement connected
with ancient forms of freeing a slave. Twenty years
earlierAugustinDupre had depicted Liberty similarly
on his greatly admired LibertasAmericanamedal.'8
16
Mario Praz, "FrancescoPianta's Bizarre Carvings," in Essays
in the Historyof Art Presentedto Rudolf Wittkower,ed. Douglas
Fraser, Howard Hibbard, Milton J. Lewine, 2 vols. (London:
Phaidon Press, 1967), 2: 221; C. P. Curran, "Cesare Ripa," p. 248.
17 See Stauffer,American
Engravers, s.v. "David Edwin," "William
Rollinson," "Benjamin Tanner," "Alexander Lawson," "John
Norman," and "Edwin Savage." Charles Willson Peale also
designed some allegorical compositions. See Charles Coleman
Sellers,"CharlesWillson Peale with Patron and Populace, A Sup-
plement to Portraits and Miniatures by Charles Willson Peale,"
Transactionsof theAmericanPhilosophicalSociety,vol. 59, pt. 3 (May
1969): S5, S57, S69.
18The
Dupre medal is discussed by Cornelius Vermeule, Numis-
maticArt in America:Aestheticsof the UnitedStates Coinage(Cam-
bridge:HarvardUniversity Press, 1971), pp. 9-10, and E. McClung
Fleming, "From Indian Princess to Greek Goddess," pp. 56-57.
124
Fig. 10. Liberty. From George Richardson, Iconology;
or,A Collection
of Emblematical
Figures. . ., 2 vols. (London:
G. Scott,1779),2: pl. 74, fig. 285, opp. p. 54. (Winterthur
MuseumLibraries.)
FatherTime was a composite figure based upon repre-
sentationsof Time (Kairos)and Saturn (Kronos)as well
as Renaissanceillustrationsof the Triumph of Time in
Petrarch'sTrionfi.The figure of Father Time (Tempus)
underwentmany transformationsover the centuries,
as Ripa was carefulto note. Barralet favored a version
that is recognizable to this day, a bearded old man
with scythe and hourglass.'9
Faith, Hope, and Charity had been depicted as the
Christian theological virtues from the ninth century
on. In Ripa, Faith is represented with cross, chalice,
and host; Hope looks heavenward and stands near an
anchor; Charity suckles babes. Barralet modified his
representationof Faith, giving her a cross to lean on
but not the equally traditional chalice and host. His
Hope looks up to Heaven but has no anchor. Only
Charity remains unchanged.
An AmericanIndian became the standardized per-
sonification for the western hemisphere shortly after
9 Erwin Panofsky observes in Studiesin Iconology(1939; reprint
ed., New York: Harper & Row, 1967), p. 71 that Father
Time managed to withstand the wholesale elimination of human-
istic subject matter from art during the late nineteenth century.
Winterthur
Portfolio12
the voyage of Columbus. Until then the three Magi
had signified the continents of Europe, Asia, and
Africa.The discoveryof a fourth continent, however,
had dealt a fatal blow to the theological symbolism.20
Afterthat, in pageants,triumphal parades, maps, and
the Iconologia,"the Four Continents" came to be per-
sonified by differentfigures believed to be representa-
tive of the original inhabitants. It seemed natural for
an Indian to representAmerica. A typical European
rendering, in the English edition of the Iconologia,
shows America's Indian as a figure with the propor-
tions of Venus and the bow and arrow of Cupid (Fig.
1).21 After the creation of the United States, native
Americanswere personified in other ways. Barralet's
figure is a sinewy male whose moccasins, tomahawk,
quiver, headdress, and braided hair all speak for
Barralet'scareful observation of the North American
Indian.
Many of Barralet'spersonificationshad classical or
religiousantecedents. But eighteenth-century Ameri-
can heroes presented special problems, and with
George Washington in particular Barralet was faced
with the task of forging a new iconography.
The two medals displayed on the side of the tomb are
the only objectswith symbolic meaning referringspe-
cifically to Washington'slife on earth. They occupy a
pocket of space near the center of the composition.
One is the emblem of the Freemasons,the compass and
square rule framing an irradiating sun. Washington
belonged to the order of the Freemasons, and they
were among those officiating at his burial. The other
medal is the badge of the Society of Cincinnati, a
short-livedcontroversialorganization of officers who
had served in the Continental army (Fig. 12). Of a
more general symbolic nature is the knight's armor,
placed at the base of the tomb, which indicates that
Washington had laid down his military role.
One other entity, the new American republic, re-
quired furthersymbolic representation,and Barralet
employedrattlesnakes,fasces,eagle, and shield for this
purpose.In late eighteenth-centurypolitical cartoons,
2 Louis Reau,
Iconographiede L'Art Chretien,3 vols. (Paris:
Presses Universitaires de France, 1955-59), 2: 237-38.
" The
personification for the New World is discussed by
Claire Le Corbeiller, "Miss America and her Sisters: Personifica-
tions of the Four Parts of the World," MetropolitanMuseumof Art
Bulletin 19, no. 8 (Apr. 1961): 210-11, and by E. McClung
Fleming, "The American Image as Indian Princess, 1765-1783,"
WinterthurPortfolio2, ed. Milo M. Naeve (Winterthur, Del.:
Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1965), pp. 66-71.
Fleming distinguishes between the Indian Queen, who personifies
the western hemisphere, and the Indian Princess, who represents
the American colonies. Occasionally the Indian is male.
John James Barralet and the Apotheosis of George Washington 125

the rattlesnakeoften representedthe rebelliousAmeri-

can colonies.As they began their struggle for indepen-
dence, the fasces came to symbolize their unity in a
lawful common effort. By 1782 the American eagle
and the figure of Liberty were adopted to decorate
the first American coins.22
The devices were prudent additions because they
reminded Americans that recent events were being
memorialized in concrete artistic form. However,
forging a new iconography required more than in-
cludingobjectsthat tacitly referredto Washington and
the new republic,and more than placing Washington
in a positionfromwhich he could bask in the afterglow
of the allegoricalmeaning of other figures. It required
conveying a sense of the dramatic importance of the
moment at hand. Barralet took up the challenge and
arrangedhis figuresto indicate that some great action
was takingplace. If we may measure Barralet'ssuccess
by the number of actions he indicates simultaneously,
we mayjudge him most successful-for he manages to
suggest that Washington is participating in an apo-
theosis, a resurrectionand an assumption.
From an early period scenes in Christian art, like a
familiar drama, had been played over with the same
characters and the same props. The Resurrection Fig. 11. America.From George Richardson, Iconology;or, A
invariably came to include soldiers in a staged sleep, Collection of Emblematical Figures . . ., 2 vols. (London:
before the sarcophagus, and Christ, a miraculous G. Scott, 1779). 1: pl. 16, fig. 60, opp. p. 30. (Winterthur
Museum Libraries.)
figure in a winding sheet, rising up from it. Barralet
appropriatedcertain poses and props from this tradi-
tional scenefor his own composition. He posed Liberty
and the Indian like the sleeping soldiers. They guard
a free-standingtomb that resembles a sarcophagus,
more than the coffin prepared to Washington's mea-
surements. But unlike the standard Resurrection
sarcophagus,Washington's, as if in expectation of a
longerstay, is inscribed"SACRED to the Memory of /
WASHINGTON / OB 14 Dec A) 1799 / At t 68.23
Anotherdifferenceis even more important. Although
Washington is robed like Christ, he does not share
Christ'smiraculouspowersat the Resurrection.Wash-
ington requiresassistancein his ascent. For this reason
Barralet'sWashington parallels the Baroque depic-

"Vermeule, NumismaticArt in America,pp. 10-13. Note that

Barralet placed sixteen stars on the shield (Fig. 1), one for each
state in the union in 1802.
23Washington's actual coffin was inscribed "[at the head]
SURGE AD JUDICIUM [about the middle] GLORIA DEO
[and on a small silver plate shaped like the American shield]
GEORGE WASHINGTON / Born Feb. 22, 1732. / Died Decem-
ber 14, 1799." See Recollections
and PrivateMemoirsof Washingtonby Fig. 12. Emblem of the Order of the Cincinnati. Detail
his AdoptedSonGeorgeWashington ParkeCustis(New York: Derby & of painted decoration on lid of a porcelain soup tureen.
Jackson, 1860), p. 477. (Winterthur 63.700.62.)
126 Winterthur
Portfolio12

tions of the Virgin who, in her Assumption, is lifted

heavenward by an angelic host.
The way in which Barraletarranged the figures for
the ascent resemblesTheAssumption of the Virgin(1697)
by Allesandro Gherardini (Fig. 13). Barralet pre-
sumably had no opportunity to see this work,although
during his lifetime baroque paintings were enjoying
wide recirculationthrough reproductive engravings.
Consequently, he could have seen representations of
the Assumption similar to Gherardini's.
What Barralethad constructed was a reenactment
of the antique rite of deification upon a Christian
scaffolding.He was not alone in his efforts.Other con-
temporary artists also conjoined the Christian and
classical traditions in single images as they sought to
dignify moder events by means of these sanctified
traditions.24Furthermore, this approach to an apo-
theosiswas not new. Over severalcenturies apotheosis
had evolved as a form to celebrate important secular
leaders almost as though they were holy figures.
Originally, in antique art an apotheosis depicted a
mythical hero like Hercules or a preeminent man
being conveyed into the company of the gods. With
the extensive revival of pagan iconography in the
Renaissance,apotheosis was again favored, this time Fig. 13. Allessandro Gherardini, The Assumptionof the Virgin.
Italy, 1697. Oil on canvas; H. 93", W. 70". (Conservatorio
to honorpreeminentChristians.After that, it was only di S. Niccolo, Prato: Photo, courtesy Azienda Autonoma di
a matter of time before logic dictated that men whose Turismo di Prato.)
destination was the heavens should be depicted in
scenes covering the great vaulted ceilings created by heaven like Mount Olympus. Appended to the
baroque architects.And at this juncture the profane bottom of Gribelin's engraving was an explanation
crossed over into sacred territory. Were it not for
implying that the king might be entitled to a place in
halos, it would be difficult to distinguish in these ba- both locations because of his triumphs on earth.
roque ceilingsbetween the holy figures in heaven and
Quite possibly Barralet was familiar with Gribelin's
the mortalsjoiningthe company of the gods on Mount
engraving as well as other European precedents for
Olympusas a rewardfor exemplary service.The same the depiction of an apotheosis. Barralet and other ar-
problem is apparent in many panel paintings. tists at the end of the eighteenth century made one
The most renowned apotheosis of the baroque furthersignificant contribution to the evolution of an
period in England was Rubens's ApotheosisofJamesI, apotheosis: they democratized it.
one panel painted for the ceiling of the Great Hall at Democratization of the post-antique apotheosis
Whitehall. This ceiling became widely known after occurredin the popular medium of engraving. These
1720 when Simon Gribelin issued his reproductive
engravings (which were not engravings after paint-
engraving.5 In design it follows the baroque ten- ings) featured protagonists who were heroes of the
dency to make Mount Olympus look like heaven, or common people. One of the best known was Jean-
Honore Fragonard's print which, in an apotheosis,
4The best-known example of a work that combines Christian
celebrated the achievements of Benjamin Franklin
and classical traditions in the service of modern history is David's (Fig. 14). Fragonard conceived the design during
DeathofMarat.For a discussion of David's painting in this context, 1778, while Franklinwas negotiating with France for
see Robert Rosenblum, Transformations in LateEighteenthCenturyArt assistancein financing America'srevolution. The first
(1967; reprint ed., Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1970), study was executed in sepia, then transposed as an
pp. 82-84.
25JuliusHeld, "Rubens's Glynde Sketch and the Installation etching by Marguerite Gerard, Fragonard'ssister-in-
of the Whitehall Ceiling," BurlingtonMagazine112, no. 806 (May law. She added an epigram written by the French
1970): 274-81. economist Turgot to honor Franklin: "ERIPUIT
JohnJamesBarraletandthe Apotheosisof GeorgeWashington 127

i
, /f

I- I I

1
l i \1

Se 1IL
I

.t,.i

Fig. 14. Marguerite Gerard after Jean-Honore Fragonard, Au Geniede Franklin["To the Genius of Franklin"]. Paris,
1778. Second state. Etching; H. 16 3/4", W. 14 11/16". (Winterthur 72.161.)
128
COELO FULMEN, SCEPTRUMQUE TIRAN-
NIS / Au GENIE DE FRANKLIN."
Accordingto the description that accompanied the
announcement of the publication of the print in the
Journalde Paris, November 15, 1778, Franklin is in
the company of Minerva and Mars. With the help of
Minerva's shield, acting as a conductor, Franklin
turnsaway lightning while Mars attacks Avarice and
Tyranny. America, holding a fasces, a symbol of the
unitedcolonies,tranquillysitsbeside Franklin,her arm
resting on his knee.6
Fragonard conceived the etching at one of those
moments when events in art and life act upon each
other. Franklin enjoyed great popularity among the
French, and was honored as an enemy of tyranny in
a country where increasing numbers of citizens per-
ceived their own king as a tyrant. Presumably Louis
XVI allowed the engraving to be issued because
Franklin opposed British tyranny. Nevertheless,
Fragonard's tyranny is a generalized figure with a
generalized crown.27
Turgot's succint epigram condensed the content of
five lines of French verse that he had written about
Franklin.A translation of these lends more meaning
to the epigram:
Here is that mortalwhose happy industry
Chainedlightningand gave laws,
Whosereadywisdomand eloquentvoice
Could freehis countryof a tyrant,
Who unarmedthe gods, who put down Kings.28
Clearly the more tactful Latin epigram was appropri-
ate for wider distribution, because the verse suggests
that the time-honored function of kings to maintain
order through law could be taken over by a com-
2' The announcement of the publication of the print, together
with the English translation, is reproduced in Charles Coleman
Sellers, BenjaminFranklinin Portraiture (New Haven: Yale Univer-
sity Press, 1962), pp. 286-89. More recently this etching has been
reproducedand discussed by Hugh Honour in TheEuropeanVision
of America(Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1975) no. 206.
n Sellers,BenjaminFranklinin Portraiture,
pp. 120-21, suggests that
this print received the nihil obstatbecause it was understood that
Eripuitcoelofulmen,sceptrumque tyrannisidentified the British king and
ministry as the tyrants. This is a reasonable assumption since
the design was probably made early in 1778 when the Franco-
Americanalliance was impending. However, it must be noted that
the work itself is ambiguous. Nowhere is tyranny identified as
British, despite Seller's contention that "a warrior charges for-
ward upon two falling figures symbolic of British tyranny." Nor
is the advertisementmorespecific than the engraving. Finally, there
is no evidence that Turgot had British tyrants in mind when he
penned the verse (in French) or the Latin epigram.
Oeuvresde M. Turgot, 9 vols. (Paris: Delance, 1808-11),
9:140.
Winterthur
Portfolio12
moner like Franklin. There is an indication that
Louis XVI did not share in the general enthusiasm
for the American statesman. He had "Eripuit Coelo
fulmen, SceptrumqueTyrannis" inscribed at the bot-
tom of a chamber pot ordered for his mistress, who
openly admired Franklin.2
As conceived by some French artists, an apotheosis
could be an honorific form and at the same time
promote insurgent ideas. The same year in which
Fragonard executed his sepia study, Robert-
Guillaume Dardel depicted an apotheosis of Voltaire.
Becauseonly the year is given on the engraving, there
is no way of telling whether Dardel conceived his idea
beforeor after Voltaire's death in 1778. Voltaire had
been a controversialfigure throughout his life. In his
eighty-fourthyear he enjoyed a great reception at the
Comedie Franqaise,where his bust was placed on the
stage and crowned with laurel while the audience
cheered wildly. But when he died two months later,
his embalmed body had to be propped up in a carriage
that left Paris because those close to him feared that
his body would be desecrated by his numerous politi-
cal enemies if it were buried in the city. Dardel's
Apotheose de Voltairereincarnates Voltaire as Apollo.
Voltaire, who had used the word lumierewhen he wrote
of enlightenment, appears as a mask that Apollo, the
sun god, holds in front of his own luminous face.
No figure from classical mythology could better serve
as Voltaire's alter ego than Apollo.
There were other works depicting Voltaire and
Apollo triumphing together over Voltaire's enemies,
and Dardel drew upon this established iconog-
raphy.30He placed his Apollo-Voltaire on Pegasus,
the winged horse traditionally associated with the
literaryarts. Under Pegasus's hooves are Heresy and
Arrogance.Wearing a mural crown and a black robe,
a woman reaches imploringly toward the mounted
Jeanne Louise Henriette Campan, first lady-in-waiting to
MarieAntoinette, observed:"The King never declared his opinion
[about Turgot's epigram] upon an enthusiasm which his correct
judgment, no doubt, led him to blame: however, the Comtesse
Diana having, to keep up her character as a woman of superior
talent, entered with considerable warmth into the idolatry of the
Americandelegate, a jest was played off upon her, which was kept
secretenough, and may give us some idea of the private sentiments
of Louis XVI. He had a vase de nuit made at Sevres manu-
factory,at the bottom of which was the medallion with its fashion-
able legend, and he sent the utensil to the Comtesse Diana as a
New Year's gift" (Campan, Memoirsof the PrivateLife of Marie
Antoinette[New York: Tudor Publishing, 1934], p. 211).
' Gustave Desnoiresterrescites
examples in which Voltaire is
shown in combination with Apollo in "Essai D'Iconographie
Voltairienne," L'Art8 (1877): 173-75.
JohnJames BarraletandtheApotheosisof GeorgeWashington 129

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Fig. 15. Barincou Monbrun, L'Apotrede la LiberteImmortalise.Bordeaux, France, ca.

1791. Line engraving; H. 19", W. 23 1/2".(Prints Division, New York Public Library.)

rider. She is a Tyche and embodies a city or realm. ' to express a heretical idea. During this period
Between her and Pegasus, Dardel places a reference of increasingpolitical unrest under Louis XVI, it sug-
to La Henriade, a poem praising Henry of Navarre gests, the French people or all Europeans (depending
while condemning religious crimes and entrenched upon which the Tyche symbolizes) will be better
authority. Dardel dedicated the Apotheoseto Voltaire's served if Voltaire's ideas on enlightened leadership
longtime friend, Frederick the Great, who had unsuc- are assumed by Frederick the Great.
cessfully tried to defeat France in the Seven Years Another engraving on the subject of an apotheosis,
War. Not until four years after Voltaire's death was this one designed by Barincou Monbrun, was struckto
the design transferred and engraved.32 The meaning mourn the death of Franklin in 1790, just a few
of the engraving is ambiguous-perhaps deliberately months after the storming of the Bastille (Fig. 15).
so. Nevertheless, the allegory can be interpreted Entitled L'Ap6trede la LiberteImmortalise,Monbrun

31 Rubens had used a

black-garbed Tyche to represent Europe engraving is found in Gustave Desnoiresterres,Iconographie Voltair-
in his famous painting TheHorrorsof War,explaining: "That grief- ienne(Paris: LibraireAcademique, 1879), pp. 147-48. The inscrip-
strickenwoman clothed in black, with torn veil, robbed of all her tion reads: "Dardel Invenit et del. 1778. Le Grand Sculp. 1782.
jewels and other ornaments, is the unfortunate Europe who, for Apotheose de Voltaire / Dediee a sa Majeste le Roi de Prusse. A
so many years now, has suffered plunder, outrage, and misery, Paris chez Le Grand, Rue St. Jacques, vis-a-vis celle des
which are so injurious to everyone that it is unnecessary to go MathuriusNo. 41. Par ses tres humbles et tres obeissants serviteurs
into detail" (Ruth Saunders Magurn, ed. and trans., The Letters Dardel et Le Grand."Dardel's career is described briefly by Emile
of PeterPaulRubens[Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1955], Bellier de la Chavignerie, "Dardel," RevueUniversalsdes Arts 19
p. 409). See also Gombrich, SymbolicImages,pp. 126-30. (1864): 365-67. The most complete listing of Augustin Legrand's
3To the best of my knowledge, very little has been written work is found in Roger Portalis et Henri Beraldi, Les Graveurs de
about this engraving,and it has not been published. There is a copy Dix-huitiemeSiecle,3 vols. (Paris: Damascene Morgaud et Charles
of it in the Bibliotheque Nationale. The fullest description of the Fatout, 1881), 2: 611-12.
130
Fig. 16. Robert Strange after Benjamin West, Apotheosis
of PrincesOctaviusand Alfred. London, 1786. Engraving;
H. 22 13/16",W. 16 15/16". (MetropolitanMuseumof
Art, gift of Miss Georgiana W. Sargent in memory of
John OsborneSargent,1924.)
dedicated the allegorical engraving to the friends of
the French constitution and presented it to the
National Assembly.33In the allegory Father Time
and Immortality play tug-of-war with Franklin while
ignoring the imploring gesture of unfettered America
(a plumed female Indian here). Despite Father
33Eduoard Feret, Biographie,vol. 3 of the Statistiquegenerale...
dudepartement de la Gironde
(Bordeaux: Feret et fils, 1874-89), p. 40.
Sydney George Fisher, The TrueBenjaminFranklin(Philadelphia:
Lippincott, 1900), p. 15. The inscription reads: "Allegorie
dediee aux amis de la Constitution Francaise par l'auteur, et
presentee a l'Assemblee Nationale. Compose et execute par
BARINCOU MONBRUN Bdx pche 3me. Se trouve ches l'auteur
quai du pont St. Jean Bordx no. 249." The text underneath the
engravingreads:"Lamort se faisit Du divin Franklin; L'amerique
au Milieu de / Ses Fers Brisess'efforcedele Retenir au pres D'elle,
L'immortalitel'arrache/ Au Neant, pour le Remettre au Sein de
la Divinite; dans le lointain Parait un Monument a sa gloire;
un Paratonerre y est place, la foudre vient / S'y arreter pour
Randre hommage a la Memoire de Celui qui SSuten Preserv6r/
L'humanite; la france et le genie de La philosophie donnent des
larmes au Plus grand / Des Mortels, l'arenommee un Crepe au
Bras Vole instruire lunivers, que / le Dieu bienfaisant des deux
WinterthurPortfolio 12
Time's musculature, the gentle embrace of Immor-
tality appears to be more effective in deciding
Franklin's ultimate destination. In the background
one of his own inventions, the lightning rod, protects
a cenotaph bearing the inscription "FRANKLIN NE
PEUT MOURIR," a sentiment appropriate to the
idea of apotheosis. France, personified by a woman,
and the spirit of philosophy mourn at the base of the
monument. In the upper regions the allegorical figure
of Fame blows her trumpet. To the left is Taurus, the
sign of the zodiac approaching at his death.
Monbrun deliberately honored a champion of liberty
revered by the French at the very time that they were
wresting liberty from the old regime.
In essence, what the French artists wished to cele-
brate in an apotheosis was not the man so much as the
political ideals he embodied. An apotheosis as it was
interpreted by America artists became, by contrast,
decidedly depoliticized.The AmericanartistBenjamin
West, who spent his most productive years in En-
gland, was, in part, instrumental in establishing this
alternative approach to an apotheosis. Sometime after
1783, when the British royal princes Alfred and Octa-
vius had died in quick succession of each other, their
bereaved parents, King George III and Queen Char-
lotte, commissioned West to portray them in a memo-
rial portrait. West produced the Apotheosisof Princes
OctaviusandAlfred,a work still in the royal collection.
In 1786 Robert Strange engraved a copy of the paint-
ing and appended this explanation: "The principal
figures are the portraits of the late Princes, Octavius
and Alfred, who, by an Angel, are presented to each
other" (Fig. 16).3 The dead princes, with Windsor
Castle below them, are in the company not only of a
guardian angel but of two cherubim. If the work were
Mondes est Retourne dans les Cieux. / Franklin, le grand franklin
Restaura Sa Patrie / le Francais admirant un Si Vaste genie / El
Malgre Ses tiraus la Mit eu liberte; L'empresse a l'elever a
l'immortalite."
34Franklin died on April 17, 1790. In the Iconologia Ripa sug-
gests that the "circle of the zodiac" be placed in proximity to
FatherTime. An early instance of such an arrangement is the late
fourth-centuryA.D. ivory panel with the apotheosis of an emperor,
now found in the British Museum, which shows a section of the
zodiac arranged in the upper right-hand corner. See Enrst Kit-
zinger, EarlyMedievalArt(1940; reprint ed., Bloomington: Indiana
University Press, 1968), pl. 6, pp. 13, 100.
35Sir Robert Strange, A Collectionof HistoricalPrints(n.p., n.d.),
pl. 45 and p. 18; Charles Le Blanc, Cataloguede L'Oeuvrede Robert
StrangeGraveur (Leipsic: Rudolphe Weigel, 1848), pp. 52-53. The
engravingexists in four states. The inscription in the border of the
fourth state reads: "Benjs. West, Pinxit e Robus Strange Delint.
et sculp Londini 1786.Ah! si quaFata aspera!"Alfred died in 1782,
age 12, and Octavius in 1783, age 3. According to Le Blanc, the
castle in the lower background is Windsor Castle.
John James Barralet and the Apotheosis of George Washington
(A
HP
F.10S)I': (A ,S il itT )
,,,..-"
Fig. 17. Loveof Virtue.From George Richardson, Iconology;
or, A Collectionof Emblematical Figures . . ., 2 vols. (London:
G. Scott, 1779), 2: pl. 73, fig. 282, opp. p. 52. (Winterthur
Museum Libraries.)
not described as an apotheosis, we could believe the
boys to be in the vicinity of heaven. West's apotheosis
displays commemorative, even Christian funereal
connotations, and is closer to some baroque antece-
dents than the work of his French contemporaries.
Rembrandt Peale, in his turn, relied upon West's
compositional arrangement when he designed an
apotheosis of Washington for display as a trans-
parency. George Washington takes the place similar
to that held- by princes upon the clouds halfway
between his family estate and his ultimate destination.
The figure about to crown him with a laurel wreath
resembles Ripa's Love of Virtue (Fig. 17). Two
mortals are substituted for West's cherubic witnes-
ses.36
36Hart, Portraitsof Washington,no. 702: inscribed "Painted by
R. Peal.-Published by S. Kennedy No. 129, Chesnut Street,
131
Fig. 18. David Edwin after R[embrandt?] Peale, Apotheosis
of Washington.Published by S. Kennedy, Philadelphia,
ca. 1803-1808. Stipple engraving; H. 21", W. 14 1/4".
(Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of William H.
Huntington, 1883.)
As a pupil of West's briefly during 1803, Rem-
brandt Peale could have become familiar with his
teacher's Apotheosisof PrincesOctaviusandA Ifred.Having
returned to America in time for Philadelphia's cele-
bration of the Louisiana Purchase on May 12, 1804,
RembrandtPeale contributed to the festivities.At the
Peale Museum that evening his transparency of the
apotheosisof George Washington was illuminated in
the great window by the stair. The transparency is
lost, but quite probably this same transparency was
the one transferredfor engraving by David Edwin
(Fig. 18).37
corer of 4th Philadelphia-Engrav'd by Edwin. / APOTHEOSIS
OF WASHINGTON." Sellers,"CharlesWillson Peale with Patron
and Populace," S82, p. 33, identifies the two figures in the
engraving as Martha Washington, who died in 1802, and John
Parke Custis. He also suggests that a life-size transparency of
George Washington created by Charles Willson Peale in 1800 to
celebrate the late president's birthday might have been an apoth-
eosis, but he can offer no proof.
7Charles Coleman
Sellers, Charles Willson Peale (New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1969), p. 312.
132
The publication of Barralet's elaborate engraved
apotheosisprecededRembrandt Peale's transparency
by two and a half years.Although in composition they
do not resemble each other, they do share common
characteristics. Both artists deified America's fore-
most hero in an apotheosis. Neither used the apotheo-
sis, as French artists had, to associate the defied hero
with insurgentideas. To appreciate this difference in
approach, we must examine American sentiments
toward Washington in the years immediately follow-
ing his death.
By the time of Washington's death a growing sense
of confidence in the democratic experiment had
replaced the fears of many that it would not work.
Despite earlier vilification, George Washington now
served as the embodiment of that success-the man
whosecharacterand reputation had placed the repub-
lic on a sound foundation. The desire to extol his ac-
complishmentsand celebrate him, to apotheosize this
American hero, was beginning to permeate all forms
of artistic, literary, and oratorical expression.
CongressmanHenry Lee, who delivered the official
funeral oration from the pulpit of the Lutheran
Church in Philadelphia, set the new exalted tone.
Although Lee did not go so far as to suggest that
George Washington achieved an apotheosis, he ex-
pressedhimself in the idiom of apotheosis. Washing-
ton, he told his listeners,had become so habituated to
caringfor his fellow Americansthat even in retirement
he neglectedhimselfand disregardeda slight cold. But
his death was not the end, Lee declared: "An end did
I say?-his fame survives!bounded only by the limits
of the earth,and by the extent of the human mind. He
survivesin our hearts ... and when even our young
and far-spreading empire shall have perished, still
will our Washington's glory unfaded shine, and die
not, until love of virtue cease on earth, or earth itself
sinks into chaos."38
Lee'ssentimentshad been anticipated by President
John Adams. In a statement released to the press as
preparationswere being made for Washington's fu-
neral, Adams wrote: "Malice could never blast his
honor and envy made him a singular exception to her
universal rule. . . . For his fellow-citizens, if their
prayerscould have been answered,he would have been
immortal."Abigail Adams rephrased her husband's
thoughts with pith and vigor: "Simple truth is his
best,his greatesteulogy. She alone can renderhis fame
immortal."39
Enthusiasmfor a leader, couched in such terms,can
38W. S. Barker,ed., Character
Portraits
of Washington
(Philadelphia:
Robert M. Lindsay, 1887), p. 63.
39Freeman, GeorgeWashington,7:650, 653.
Portfolio12
Winterthur
only occur when a certain set of circumstances pre-
vails. Those who listen and receive the new hero into
their culture's mythology must be willing to cast the
leader into the hero's role and wish for his immortal
fame. The hero must have exploits that lend them-
selves to heroic interpretation, and George Washing-
ton did, as his admirerswere quick to note. Congress-
man Lee reminded the mourners that "in the dismal
hour of Indian victory, pressed by the conquering
savage foe," the youthful Washington had saved
Braddockand the king'sarmy from total defeat in the
French and Indian War.
Casting Washington in the hero's role was not an
exercise limited to patriotic Americans. An editor of
the MorningChronicle (London) went so far as to state
that Washington's entire career was unblemished:
"The whole range of history does not present to our
view a characterupon which we can dwell with such
entire and unmixed admiration. The long life of
General Washington is not stained by a single blot."
The editor added confidently: "His fame, bounded
by no country, will be confined to no age." Another
commanding figure of the era, the first consul of
France, Napolean Bonaparte, ranked Washington
with ancient heroes: "He seems so little to belong to
moder times that he imparts to us the same vivid
impressions as the most august examples of antiq-
uity."40
Americans wished to believe in Washington's ac-
complishmentsand, during a period of bereavement,
in his immortal fame. But in America his myth was
hybridized-the incongruous additional element was
commercialization.It fell to Parson Weems, an una-
bashedembellisher,to expand the original form. After
the initial period of mourning ended, it was Weems
who capitalized on Americans'receptivity to the idea
of a mythologized hero. In TheLife of GeorgeWashing-
ton:WithCurious EquallyHonourable
Anecdotes, toHimself
andExemplary to his YoungCountrymen,
Weems spun the
tale of young George,his little hatchet and the cherry
tree.Weems alone knew how to interpretMary Wash-
ington's dream concerning her son's future greatness.
And Weems carefully included the verbatim quote of
a famous (but, in Weems's account, anonymous) In-
dian warrior,who had tried to kill Washington while
he was rescuing Braddock'sdefeated troups: "Wash-
ington was not born to be killed by a bullet! I had
seventeenfair firesat him with my rifle, and all could
not bring him to the ground."41
40
Freeman, GeorgeWashington,7:648.
4Mason L. Weems, The Life of Washington,ed. Marcus
Cunliffe (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Belknap Press,
1970), pp. 12, 55-58, 42.
JohnJames Barraletand theApotheosisof GeorgeWashington
When he came to tell of Washington's death,
Weems, an ordained Anglican minister, fashioned
a Christian mise-en-scene. His account takes on the
grand proportionsof an apotheosis, but angels are the
principal actors. According to Weems, Washington,
feeling the "silver chord of life" loosening, closed his
eyes for the last time, folded his arms decently on his
breast, breathed out "Father of mercies! take me to
thyself," and fell asleep. All this Weems crafts into
one remarkablesentence that prepares the reader for
the final scene:
Swifton angels'wings the brighteningsaint ascended;
whilevoicesmorethan humanwereheard(in Fancy'sear)
warblingthroughthe happy regions,and hymning the
greatprocessiontowardsthe gatesof heaven.His glorious
comingwas seen far off, and myriadsof mighty angels
hastenedforth,withgoldenharps,to welcomethehonoured
stranger.. . . All that followed was too much for the
overdazzled eyeof Imagination.
Shewasseento return,with
the quickpantingbosomand looks entrancedof a fond
mother,nearswooningat suddensightof a dearlovedson,
deemed lost, but now found, and raised to kingly hon-
ours!42
Weems, who left Americans a mythologized hero,
left them one thing more: his correspondence to his
publisher.And thiscorrespondencethrowslight on the
underside of myth in America. There was a part of
Weems'simagination that was not taken up with early
childhood tales, inspired visions and dreams. In June
1799, six months before Washington's death, Weems
wrote to the publisher Mathew Carey about an idea
fora book. The father of a newborn creation, his mind
was fecund with ideas: "I have nearly ready for the
pressa piece christend, or to be christend, 'The Beau-
ties of Washington. .. .' What say you to printing it
for me and ordering a copper plate Frontispiece of
that Heroe, something in this way. George Washing-
ton Esqr. The Guardian Angel of his Country 'Go
thy way old George. Die when thou wilt we shall
never look upon thy like again'"43 Weems had
already concluded that the book would sell like flax
seed.
A month after Washington's death Weems in-
creased the pressure upon Carey. He wrote in mid-
January 1800: "I've something to whisper in your
lug. Washington, you know is gone! Millions are
gaping to read something about him. I am very
nearly primd and cockd for 'em. 6 months ago I set
myselfto collect anecdotes of him. My plan! I give his
history,sufficiently minute.... I then go on to show
that his unparralled rise & elevation were due to his
4Weems, Life of Washington, pp. 168-69.
4Weems to Carey as cited in Weems, Life of Washington,
p. xiv.
133
Great Virtues." According to Weems, Washington's
virtueswere: "1 his Veneration for the Diety or Reli-
gious Principles. 2 His Patriotism. 3d his Magnin-
mity. 4 his Industry. 5 his Temperance & Sobriety. 6
his Justice, &c. &c."44
Between 1800 and 1808 seven editions of
Weems's TheLife of Washington appeared, all but the
firstpublished by Carey. Each edition was more elab-
orate than the preceding one. In 1808 Weems
imprudentlysold his copywright to Carey, and there-
after Carey refused to allow any further embellish-
ments. This recalcitrancedid not discourage Weems
from trying to convince Carey to bring out an
improved version: "You have a great deal of money
lying in the bones of old George," he advised Carey,
"if you will but exert yourself to extract it."4
It is within this context of myth and American op-
portunism that Barralet'sapotheosis ultimately must
be understood. As early as December 19, 1800,
Barraletadvertised in the PhiladelphiaGazettethat he
was taking subscriptionsfor his engraving. An adver-
tisement for the engraving itself appeared in Phila-
delphia's General Aurora Advertiseron Monday,
February 3, 1802. The city had been the scene of
Washington's official obsequies; the nation had
mourned by staging a funeral procession and burial
although Washington's body remained at Mount
Vernon. Congressman Henry Lee had delivered his
famous funeral oration in Philadelphia. Because
Philadelphiawas also a publishing center, biographies
of Washington, including Weems's second edition of
1800, were published there. As a resident of Philadel-
phia, Barralet had witnessed this cycle of mourning,
mythologizing, and profit-taking and then took ad-
vantage of it himself.
The publication of Barralet'sengraving was timed
to coincide with Washington's birthday. February 22
already had become the high water mark in the flow
of Americansentiment for Washington. Barralet cal-
culated accordingly: "APOTHEOSIS OF WASH-
INGTON finished for delivery.... The subscribers
are respectfullyinformed that the proof prints will be
delivered at S. Chaudron's, No. 12, South Third
Street. Feb. 5, dim." The advertisement, which ran
from Monday, February3, through Saturday, March
6, 1802, also provided a description of the engraving:
"The subject-Gen. Washington raised from the
Tomb, by the Poetical and Historical Genius, assisted
by Immortality-at his feet America weeping over his
Weems to Carey as cited in Weems, Life of Washington,p.
xv.
5 Weems to Careyas cited in Weems, Lifeof Washington,
pp. xviii-
xix.
134
Fig. 19. A memorial to George Washington based on the
engraving by Barralet shown in figure 1. China, ca. 1802.
Oil on glass; H. 26 5/8", W. 19 1/4". (Winterthur 60.570.)
Armour, on the opposite side an Indian crouched in
surly sorrow, in the third ground the Mental Virtues,
Faith Hope and Charity." In this advertisement
certain figures have been reinterpreted, probably to
make them more suitable companions to America's
prime Revolutionary hero. The "Poetical and His-
torical Genius" is in fact Father Time, but the former
title makes him a particularly appropriate companion
for Washington. "America weeping" is the figure with
the attributes of Liberty and probably represents both
America and Liberty, as is the case in other contem-
porary engravings." If so, the Indian, "crouched in
surly sorrow" rather than representing the American
6Barralet'sown advertisements, issued in the two-year interval
between the pulling of the proof prints and the finished engraving,
make it clear that he equated Liberty with America. On Dec. 19,
1800, he advertised in the PhiladelphiaGazette:"The subject,
GENERALWASHINGTON... At his feet, AMERICA Weeping
over his Armour, holding the Staff surmounted by the Cap of
Liberty, emblematical of his mild administration." In his later
wash drawing entitled Wisdomand Truth leading the Infant Arts
toAmerica he also gives the attributes of Liberty to America. See n.
7. For a discussion of an intermediate phase when artists in the
separate colonies equated Liberty with Britannia, see Frank H.
Portfolio12
Winterthur
continent may stand for those Indians who lamented
Washington's passing. And finally, Faith, Hope, and
Charity receive a new interpretation in predominantly
Protestant America. With the label "Mental Virtues"
they could be understood to refer to Washington him-
self or Americans in general rather than the theologi-
cal virtues traditionally revered in Catholic Europe.
As many as 600 engravings, measuring 24 by 181/2
inches, could have been pulled from Barralet's plate.
In addition, some of these engravings were converted
into other art forms and received still wider distri-
bution. An enterprising artist copied Barralet's design
as a life-sized transparency for exhibition in a Boston
theater.47 One engraving was carried to China,
where Chinese artists duplicated the design as a
painting on glass plaques (Fig. 19) and export porce-
lain.48 The faithful copies were deficient in only one
detail: Barralet's name and the place and date of
publication were omitted. In one respect, this act of
artistic piracy was a high compliment to the artist
because Yankee sea captains had a shrewd sense of
what the American public would buy.49 In an era
before America had a copyright agreement with
China, the artist's reward had to be supramone-
tary.
The practice of depicting an apotheosis on objects
sold to the public has ancient antecedents. The
underside of a kylix decorated by the Phrynos
Painter in the sixth century B.C. represents Hercules
led by Hera into the presence of Zeus (Fig. 20). This
apotheosis of Hercules was painted onto a type of pot
Sommer,"The Metamorphosesof Britannia," AmericanArt:1750-
1800, TowardsIndependence, ed. Charles F. Montgomery and
Patricia E. Kane (Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1976), pp.
40-49.
47BostonColumbian Centinel,Apr. 2, 1834.
48One copy painted on glass, in the Winterthur Museum collec-
tion, is reproduced in color in The AmericanHeritageHistoryof the
MakingoftheNation(New York:American Heritage Publishing Co.,
1968), p. 66. E. McSherry Fowble, associate curator and in
chargeof graphics,WinterthurMuseum, kindly wrote me about the
process used by the Chinese artist: "Although he followed .the
engravingin great detail, the artist did not transfer the engraving
onto the glass before proceeding with the painting" (July 26,
1973). The New Haven Historical Society has one copy. Another
copy, in the MarbleheadHistorical Society collection, is illustrated
in Carl L. Crossman, "China Trade Painting on Glass," Antiques
95, no. 3 (Mar. 1969):377. Crossmanwrites that this workwas made
for Benjamin Wheeler of Boston about 1810. The Marblehead
Historical Society collection also contains a Liverpool pitcher
with Barralet'sdesign.
9For an account of one such captain and a Gilbert Stuart
portrait of Washington that he pirated, see E. P. Richardson,
"China Trade Portraits of Washington after Stuart," Pennsylvania
Magazineof Historyand Biography94, no. 1 (Jan. 1970): 95-100.
 John James Barralet and the Apotheosisof GeorgeWashington
Fig. 20. Apotheosis of Hercules as shown on black-figure lip cup decorated by the Phyrnos Painter.
Athens, 550-530 B.C. (British Museum.)
the Greeks exported to their Mediterranean neigh-
bors. Seen in this context, an apothesis of George
Washingtonpainted onto plaques and Chinese export
pitchers is part of a continuing tradition.
The Apotheosis of George Washington, in whatever
medium it was depicted, also heralded a characteris-
tically Americantradition: the glorification of Ameri-
can presidentsafter death. The glorification of Wash-
ington continued well into the nineteenth century,
and the course of this process can be charted by log-
ging his representationsas an apotheosized figure.5
Barralet'sengraving was reissued in 1816 and then
twice more in the nineteenth century. Judging from
the appearance of the engraving in the fourth state,
the proofs were pulled until the plates wore out.
Around 1830 Samuel Moore painted another apo-
theosis that H. Weshaupt copied as a colored litho-
graph and coupled with a rhapsodic description that
hailed Washington as the first in council, the first in
the field, the first in the hearts of his fellow citizens,
and the father of his country. When James Burns
50Another manifestation of Washington's glorification can be
seen in the landscape representations of his estate and tomb
site. The firstofthese, MOUNT VERNONIN VIRGINIA/ The Seat
of the late Lieut. General George Washington, was published by
FrancisJukes on Mar. 31, 1800.
135
paintedan apotheosisof Washington in 1849, the poet
George Rogers penned an explanation that included
an unqualified endorsement of Washington's leader-
ship: "Ah!Yes, indeed, without thee, O! Washington,
the world,in a political point of view, might have been
still writhing under the incubus of despotism."51
Unfortunately, Burs's apotheosis is lost.
Another important lost work, completed in 1854,
celebrated Washington's elevation not to Olympus
but to Heaven. The American artist Rembrandt
Lockwood, working first in Munich and then in
Newark,New Jersey, conceived and executed a great
painting in oil of the LastJudgment.Drawing inspira-
tion from workson the same subject by both Michel-
angelo and Peter von Cornelius as well as Raphael's
Disputa,Rembrandt Lockwood's version contained
over one thousand five hundred figuresand measured
27 by 17 feet. A finished preliminary drawing
indicates that Lockwood placed Washington, the
father of his country, along the central axis directly
beneath the figure of Christ the Judge (Fig. 21).
51 Explanation the
of Painting,byJamesBums,of Washingtoncrowned
bythreeangels,emblematic andLibertyWitha halo
of Equality,Fraternity
formedof the hues of the Rainbow,surrounded by eminentPatriotsof
othercountries,
the descriptionof the Painting, as delivered by George
Rogers, at its exhibition at the Apollo, New York (New York:
Cameron's Steam Press, 1850), p. 6.
136 WinterthurPortfolio 12

Fig. 21. Rembrandt Lockwood, Preliminary drawing for The LastJudgment.Newark, New Jersey, ca.
1850. Pencil, charcoal, and wash; H. 37", W. 24". (Newark Museum, gift of Vose Galleries and
William Gannon, 1965.)
John James Barralet and the Apotheosis of George Washington 137

Washington is oriented toward the blessed. A toga-

'i
W. ~
draped seated figure, he turns in the direction of the
nude woman who has broken her bonds-slavery
freed-and, behind her, the Holy Family. In so doing,
Washington keeps his back to personifications of
Ambition, Despair, Drunkenness, Hate, Sloth,
Procrastination, Envy, and Covetousness. Lock-
wood's LastJudgmentwas exhibited in Newark and
New York and gained a wider audience in a repro-
ductive engraving.52
The penultimate glorification of Washington how-
ever must be the apotheosis frescoed into the eye of
the Capitol dome by Constantino Brumidi. The
Italian-born artist painted Washington seated in
majesty,attended by Freedom and Victory, and sur-
rounded by personifications of the thirteen original
states and other figures that represented the fall of
tyranny and the prosperity accruing from agricul-
ture, commerce,and the arts and sciences. Brumidi's
apotheosiswas finished in 1865, the year of Abraham
Lincoln'sassassination.Upon the death of Lincoln the
idea of apotheosiswas pressedinto service again, this
time to suggest that one American president could
transferhis glorification to another. In a photomon-
tage the two presidents embrace in the clouds as
Washington bestows the laurel crown upon the mar-
tyred Lincoln (Fig. 22). This photographic cartede
visite,by an anonymous artist, became common in
Victorian parlor albums after 1865.53
Fig. 22. Apotheosis of George Washington and Abraham
Apotheosis, variously transmogrified, endured a Lincoln as shown on a cartede visite, ca. 1865, in the collection
surprisinglylong time in American art and life. It took of the late F. E. Seaton, Minneapolis. From Richard
root in receptivesoil. John James Barralet'sengraved Rudisill, MirrorImage: The Influenceof the Daguerreotype
onAmericanSociety(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico
apotheosis of 1802 had set the precedent. Death was
the catalyst that brought together a bereaved nation Press, 1971), pl. 1.

prepared to mythologize a hero and an Irish artist

familiarwith classicaland Christian traditions in art.
Barralethad only to alter the ancient form of the apo-
theosis to serve the needs of the American polity.

5William H. Gerdts, Jr., "Rembrandt Lockwood, an Artist of

Newark,"Proceedings of the NewJerseyHistoricalSociety:A Magazine
of NewJerseyHistory,76, no. 4 (Oct. 1958): 265-78.
53Richard Rudisill, MirrorImage:TheInfluenceof theDaguerreotype
onAmerican Society(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press,
1971), p. 13 and pl. 1.