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Secondary sourcePainting

Portrait of Bolívar (Leipzig engraving)

A black and white engraved portrait of Simón Bolívar in military uniform, held by Leipzig University Library.

This engraved portrait depicts Bolívar, showing how his image circulated after his death.

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Black and white engraved portrait of a man in a military uniform with epaulettes and braided buttons, with short hair and a mustache, looking to his left. The caption below reads BOLIVAR. Printed on a cream sheet with the number 3 in the upper right corner.
Unknown engraver, Bildnis des Bolivar. Leipzig University Library.

About this source

What it is

This is a black and white engraved print showing a man in military uniform with epaulettes, identified by the caption below as Bolívar. The maker and exact date are not recorded. It is held today by Leipzig University Library in Germany.

Why it matters

Portraits like this one helped spread an image of Simón Bolívar across Europe long after his lifetime, shaping how people who never met him imagined his appearance and authority as a military and political leader.

Look closer

  • What details in the uniform suggest the sitter's rank or status?
  • Why might this print have ended up in a German university library rather than in South America?
  • Since the artist is unknown, how reliable do you think this image is as a likeness?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Simón Bolívar on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Photograph of an aged, handwritten manuscript page on yellowed paper, lying open in a white book or folder. Dense cursive script fills the page, with a faded blue stamp from the Banco Central del Ecuador in the upper right corner and a stamp in the upper left. The photo carries an Andes news agency watermark.Letter

Primary source

Carta de Jamaica

Simón Bolívar · 1815

Speech

Primary source

Speech of Angostura

Simón Bolívar · 15 February 1819

Black-and-white steel engraved portrait of a man with dark wavy hair and a mustache, wearing a high-collared military uniform with epaulettes and buttoned coat. Below the image are the printed title 'Bolivar' and credit lines.Painting

Secondary source

Steel Engraved Portrait of Bolívar by W. Holl after M.N. Bate

William Holl II · 1853

A painting of a man in a white shirt holding a quill and pointing at a document on a table, while a uniformed officer in a dark cape stands opposite, with soldiers and a seated scribe behind. A dog sits at left.Document

Primary source

Decree of War to the Death

Simón Bolívar · 15 June 1813

Pen-and-ink drawing of a bedroom with a four-poster canopy bed draped in curtains with tasseled trim, a patterned tiled wall, and a doorway opening onto a window with bars. Signed 'Sánchez Felipe' at lower right. A faint purple library stamp appears at left and a Diputación de Cáceres logo at lower right.Artifact

Secondary source

Drawing of the Room Where Simón Bolívar Was Born

Alejandro Sánchez Felipe · 1960

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