PORTRAIT OF THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE WITH HIS BLACK SQUIRE, SPY AND NAMESAKE THE SLAVE JAMES ARMISTEAD LAFAYETTE

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[LAFAYETTE, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de; Le Mire, Noël].

Conclusion de la campagne de 1781 en Virginie. To his excellency General Washington this likeness of his friend, the Marquess de la Fayette, is humbly dedicated. By le Mire. Cette estampe se vend avec privilège du Roy, à Paris chez le Mire rüe et porte St. Jacques, a côté du Caffé d’Aubertin no. 122.

Paris, Noel Le Mire, [1783].

Separately published copper engraving [48.2 x 32.1 cm]. Print closely trimmed to printmark at foot of sheet, without loss of text; a couple of small faint spots, otherwise bright and fresh.

Full-length engraved portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834)  depicted with his black young squire and pointing with his extended hand to the battle of Yorktown raging in the background.   The portrait was engraved by Noël Le Mire from a painting by Jean-Baptiste Le Paon.

The Marquis de Lafayette, born Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier in 1757, was a French military officer and key figure in the American Revolutionary War. Inspired by the American Revolution, at the age of 19 he volunteered to join the Continental Army. Lafayette quickly gained Washington's trust, becoming a major general and serving in key battles like Yorktown in September-October 1781. After returning to France, Lafayette became a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830.

The young black squire next to Lafayette has been identified as James Armistead Lafayette (c1760-1830), an enslaved American who played a crucial role as a spy during the American Revolutionary War. During the American Revolution, he received permission from his master, William Armistead, to enlist in the Marquis de Lafayette’s French Allied units. James made some of his most significant contributions to conduct of the war during the Battle of Yorktown, when his intelligence about approaching British reinforcements allowed Washington and Lafayette to devise a blockade impeding enemy advancements. These efforts resulted in a decisive victory for the American colonists and their French allies at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. Lafayette was instrumental in helping James gain his freedom after the war, and James honored him by adding “Lafayette” (or “Fayette”) to his surname.

Jean-Baptiste Le Paon (c1736/38-1785), a French painter and former military officer, was recognized for his depictions of military battles. He apprenticed under Francesco Casanova, a Venetian painter known for his battle scenes, and later served as the principal painter to Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé, adorning the Palais Bourbon with military artwork. In 1780, Le Paon produced a full-length portrait of General George Washington, also engraved by Le Mire, which is sometimes considered a companion piece to his portrait of Lafayette.

French engraver and etcher Noël Le Mire (1724-1801) was known for his skill in creating vignettes, as seen in special editions of Jean de La Fontaine's Fables and Ovid's Metamorphoses, based on drawings by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. Additionally, he illustrated works by Boccaccio, Corneille, Racine, Voltaire, and Rousseau, and his small engraved portraits of royalty, including Henry IV, Frederick the Great, Joseph II, and Louis XV, were highly popular.

* Benezit, vol. 6, p. 567 (Le Mire), pp. 589-590 (Le Paon).

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