Alonzo Chapel Painting of Lafayette

American artist Alonzo Chapel (1828-1887) achieved widespread fame in the late nineteenth century for historical paintings and portraits illustrating events and characters from the American Revolution. Most of his works were reproduced as black and white illustrations in schoolbooks, newspapers, magazines, and other publications, teaching generations of Americans about the founding era of their nation. In this 1857 painting by Chapel, the German-born officer Johann de Kalb (center) introduces American diplomat Silas Deane (right) to the youthful Marquis de Lafayette (left) in Paris, in November 1776. The Continental Congress had sent Deane as a secret agent to France in order to seek financial and military assistance against the British. Deane enlisted the services of a number of foreign officers, including De Kalb and Lafayette, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1777 to take up positions in the Continental Army.