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Primary sourcePainting1766

Portrait of Jean Jacques Rousseau

David Martin · 1766

A mezzotint print of Rousseau made during his lifetime, showing him in a fur hat and coat with his hand on his chest.

This lifetime portrait of Rousseau shows how he presented himself to the public, with a Latin motto he claimed as his own.

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Sepia-toned mezzotint print of a man in a tall fur hat and fur-collared coat, with his hand raised to his chest, set on a page of a bound book. Caption below reads Jean Jacques Rousseau, Vitam Impendere Vero, after Ramsay, published by David Martin.
David Martin, Portrait of Jean Jacques Rousseau, after Allan Ramsay, 1766. Albertina Museum, Vienna.

About this source

What it is

This is a sepia-toned mezzotint print of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, made in 1766 by David Martin, after a portrait by Allan Ramsay. It is held today by the Albertina Museum in Vienna.

Why it matters

Because it was made while Rousseau was alive, it is one of the images that shaped how people across Europe pictured the philosopher. The caption beneath it, 'Vitam Impendere Vero' (to dedicate one's life to truth), was a phrase Rousseau used about himself, showing how he wanted to be seen.

Look closer

  • What does Rousseau's clothing and pose suggest about how he wanted to be remembered?
  • Why might an artist add a Latin motto to a portrait?
  • How might this printed image have spread Rousseau's reputation beyond France?

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

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Title page of Du Contrat Social ou Principes du Droit Politique by J. J. Rousseau, citoyen de Genève, printed at Amsterdam by Marc Michel Rey, MDCCLXII. Below the text is an engraved allegorical figure of a woman holding scales and a staff, flanked by trees, with Latin mottos above her. A handwritten inscription appears at top right.Book

Primary source

The Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1762

Open book spread showing the title page of Rousseau's Discours sur l'origine et les fondemens de l'inégalité parmi les hommes, Amsterdam, 1755, with red and black printed text and a engraved vignette of a seated woman. On the left page is an engraved plate of men in a landscape with a figure pointing.Book

Primary source

Discourse on Inequality

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1754 (published 1755)

Black and white line engraving of an oval portrait of a man with curled powdered hair, white cravat, and dark coat, seated and smiling slightly, set within an ornate framed border with laurel leaves, ribbons, a book inscribed with a title, and a lamp. Caption at bottom reads 'Publish'd 1st of April 1780 By Fielding & Walker Pater Noster Row'.Painting

Secondary source

Engraving of Rousseau after La Tour's Portrait

E. Ficquet, after Maurice Quentin de La Tour · 1780

Title page of the 1762 first edition of Emile, ou de l'éducation by J. J. Rousseau, citoyen de Genève. Red and black print; A La Haye, chez Jean Néaulme, Libraire; Tome Premier; MDCCLXII.Book

Primary source

Emile, or On Education

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1762

Engraved portrait print of a man with tousled hair and a fur-collared coat, seated and smiling slightly, framed by a stone-block border. A plinth below bears the Latin inscription 'VITAM IMPENDERE VERO'. Signed lower left 'De la Tour Pinx' and lower right 'R. Vinkeles Sc. 1764'.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of the French Writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau

R. Vinkeles, after Maurice Quentin de La Tour · 1764

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