Jacques Reich, 10 Aug 1852 - 8 Jul 1923 - Thomas Jefferson - c. 1899-1920 - T-Shirt

This pen-and-ink profile shows Thomas Jefferson facing right, his head set against a dense field of cross-hatching.

Visual Elements & Composition

Cream dominates the sheet, with charcoal black carrying the drawing and warm grey adding quiet tone. The head sits in strict profile against a dark halo of fine hatching, and that worked background makes the face and wig stand out in relief. The curled wig is tied at the nape with a ribbon whose ends hang over the collar. A frilled white jabot and a broad-lapelled dark coat frame the lower half, with small, precise marks for the buttons. The caption Thomas Jefferson sits lower left, the printed inscription Scribner Gift lower right, and the artist's signature appears beneath the lapel.

Meaning & Symbolism

Jefferson (1743 to 1826) was a Virginia planter, lawyer and statesman who drafted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, served as the third President of the United States, and founded the University of Virginia. The profile follows the classical tradition of the republican likeness, presenting him as a figure of reason and public virtue in late eighteenth-century dress. Jefferson's statement that all men are created equal stands at the centre of the American political tradition, and his ownership of enslaved people sits alongside that claim in the historical record. Jacques Reich (1852 to 1923) was an illustrator, and his careful hatching gives the portrait its engraved clarity.

Wearing the Portrait

A profile portrait is read from the side, so the strong line of the brow, nose and jaw becomes the focal point when the shirt is seen from the front. The dense hatching behind the head reads as a dark field at a conversational distance, while the finer detail of the wig, ribbon and jabot rewards a closer look. Printed across the chest, the portrait keeps its composed, dignified stance.