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Secondary sourcePainting

Porträt Thomas Jefferson

Auguste Gaspard Louis Boucher Desnoyers

A 19th-century engraved portrait of Jefferson made by French artist Boucher Desnoyers, dedicated to General Lafayette.

A later engraved portrait of Jefferson, made after his lifetime and dedicated to General Lafayette.

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Engraved portrait print of Thomas Jefferson, a man with curly white hair in a dark coat, high white collar and lace jabot, shown on a page of a bound album. Caption below reads JEFFERSON, Dédié au Général Lafayette.
Auguste Gaspard Louis Boucher Desnoyers, Porträt Thomas Jefferson. Albertina Museum.

About this source

What it is

This engraved portrait of Thomas Jefferson was created by the French artist Auguste Gaspard Louis Boucher Desnoyers. It is held by the Albertina Museum in Austria. The print is dedicated to General Lafayette, the French officer who fought alongside American revolutionaries.

Why it matters

Made after Jefferson's lifetime, this image shows how his likeness continued to be reproduced and shared in Europe, especially linked to Lafayette, a figure connecting French and American history. It is a later, imagined likeness rather than one made from life.

Look closer

  • Why might this portrait be dedicated to Lafayette rather than to an American audience?
  • How does this image compare to portraits made while Jefferson was alive?
  • What choices did the artist make in showing Jefferson's clothing and expression?

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

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After Gilbert Stuart · 1802

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Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Thomas Jefferson · written 1777, enacted 16 January 1786

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Thomas Jefferson Etching by John Kay, 1807

Gilbert Stuart · 1807

Handwritten manuscript page headed 'Confidential' and 'Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives', written in brown ink on aged paper, discussing trading houses with Indian tribes and federal policy.Document

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Jefferson's Secret Message to Congress Regarding the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Thomas Jefferson · 18 January 1803

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