In this imaginary scene, Franklin is shown bowing deeply before Louis XVI, who is seated on a curtained dais. Courtiers and clerics witness his reception.
This scene is one of a series of 12 scenes of rhe American Revolution, through European eyes. They were originally drawn by Chodowiecki and engraved for an article, "Nordamerikanische Revolution," in the Historische-Genealogishe Kalender oder Jahrbuch... fur 784, published in Leipzig. The same year they appeared in the Allgemeine Historishe Taaschenbuch, also engraved by Berger.
The twelve scenes illustrated are, for the most part, ones that have entered the bank of images related to the American revolution. But there are a few that are worth noting: Hessian prisoners being brought to Philadelphia, the landing of the French at Rhode Island, and the evacuation of New York.
This entry was written with the help of research by Dr. David Wallace, formerly Chief Curator at Independence National Historical Park.

Historical scene depicting Franklin