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Primary sourcePainting1788

Thomas Jefferson

John Trumbull · 1788

A small 1788 life study of Jefferson painted in Paris, later used as the model for his face in Trumbull's Declaration painting.

This life study of Jefferson was later used as the model for his face in Trumbull's painting of the Declaration of Independence.

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Oval portrait painting of a man with powdered light hair tied back with a black ribbon, wearing a gray-blue coat with gold buttons, a yellow patterned waistcoat, and a white cravat, against a pale gray background within a yellow-ochre frame.
John Trumbull, Thomas Jefferson, 1788. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this source

What it is

This is a small oval oil portrait of Thomas Jefferson painted from life in 1788 by John Trumbull in Paris. It is now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Why it matters

Trumbull used this life study as the model for Jefferson's face in his larger, famous painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It shows how artists built historical paintings from direct studies of real people, connecting this small portrait to one of the most iconic images of American history.

Look closer

  • Why might an artist paint a small life study before creating a larger historical painting?
  • What details in this portrait might have helped Trumbull later paint Jefferson's face accurately?
  • What does using a life study suggest about how much accuracy mattered to history painters?

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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Scan of the engrossed Declaration of Independence on aged parchment. Heading reads 'In Congress, July 4, 1776' with the title 'The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America' below. Dense handwritten text fills the page; signatures appear at the bottom.Document

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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

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.Painting

Secondary source

Porträt Thomas Jefferson

Auguste Gaspard Louis Boucher Desnoyers

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