Bust

Title:

Benjamin Franklin

Object Name:

Bust

Object ID:

1912.005.01

Creator:

Ceracchi, Giuseppe (1751-1802); Caffieri, Jean-Jacques (1725-1792)

Place of Origin:

Italy or France

Date:

circa 1791

Description:

Portrait Bust. Benjamin Franklin, marble. Slightly larger than life-size bust of man; looking straight ahead; back hollowed below shoulders; attached to separate circular base 9.1" in diameter, with plaster. Pupils and iris of eyes defined; lips tightly closed. Wearing a cravat and a collarless outer garment without buttons. Bust of Benjamin Franklin of the Caffieri rather than the Houdon type.

Material:

Stone
Marble

Dimensions:

H-27.5 W-17.6 D-12.6 inches

Provenance:

According to an address given in 1912, "this is the work that has, for more than a century, been attributed to the sculptor Ceracchi but is now proved to be Caffieri's by the finding of the original in the institute of France, identified by the signature and the date 1777." Caffieri, however is not known to have made a marble version of his terra cotta original and at least three other early marble copies have histories of having been made by Guiseppi Ceracchi (1751-1801).

Credit Line:

Gift of Edward and Julia Stell Tuck

People:

Franklin, Benjamin (1706-1790), Tuck, Edward (1842-1938), Ceracchi, Giuseppe (1751-1802), Tuck, Julia Stell (1850-1928), Caffieri, Jean Jacques (1725-1792)

Subjects:

Franklin, Benjamin, Sculpture