Benjamin Franklin Papers

To Benjamin Franklin from Alexis Judlin, 15 July 1780

From Alexis Judlin6

ALS: American Philosophical Society

Ce Samdi, 15 juillet 1780

Monsieur

Comme je n’ai pas eu lhonneur de vous trouver chez vous jai laissé une lettre de la part d’un Mr: de Votre Connoissance,7 au quel vous avés permi, de vous faire peindre, comme cela vous serés trop incomode de vous transporter chez moi et que je ne pourés point non plus vous donner des seances chez vous, Si vous pouviés me Confier pour quelque jour un portrait de vous qui fut resemblant jaurès le plaisir de Contenter celui qui desir votre portrait vous pouvés être assuré Monsieur que j’aurés tout les soins possible pour le portrait que vous me pretterés,8 j’ai lhonneur d’etre Monsieur Votre tres humble serviteur

JUDLIN
peintre De la Reine

Addressed: a Monsieur / Monsieur Franklin / à Passy

Notation: Judlin 15 Juillet; Paris 1780.

[Note numbering follows the Franklin Papers source.]

6A miniaturist who had exhibited at the Royal Academy of London from 1773 to 1776, and who would have several pieces in the Parisian Salons of 1791 and 1793: Sellers, Franklin in Portraiture, pp. 135–6, 317–19. Judlin had been commissioned in the spring to paint a portrait of BF for Simon-Pierre Fournier le jeune. BF had agreed to sit for the artist as a special favor to Fournier, but explained that he would have preferred Judlin to copy the Duplessis portrait: XXXII, 349–50, 362–3. As it happened, BF was never at home when Judlin had called and, as this letter makes clear, the artist was now giving up hope of obtaining a sketch from nature.

7Fournier; the letter has not been found.

8We do not know which of the Duplessis portraits was lent, as Judlin’s miniature has not been located (see Sellers, Franklin in Portraiture, p. 319). He completed it by Aug. 15; see Fournier’s letter of that date.

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