Gilbert Stuart Portrait at Met Museum Highlights Louis-Marie de Noailles, French Noble Who Fought in Three Revolutions

A portrait by Gilbert Stuart from 1798, depicting Louis-Marie, Viscount de Noailles, resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and illustrates the life of a French nobleman involved in the American, French, and Haitian revolutions. Born in Paris in 1756, Noailles joined the American Revolution in 1778, where he served under George Washington and garnered admiration from Alexander Hamilton. He played a role in the Siege of Savannah in 1779 and was part of the negotiations for the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781 with John Laurens. After returning to France, he emerged as a prominent liberal figure during the French Revolution, leading the Constituent Assembly on August 4, 1789, when feudal privileges were abolished, although slavery remained unaddressed. Fleeing France in 1792, he briefly resided in England before settling in the U.S. and becoming a citizen in 1795. In 1802, he participated in Napoleon's mission to Saint-Domingue (Haiti) to quell the Haitian Revolution, where he acquired 300 hunting dogs used against Black fighters, including a tragic incident involving an enslaved boy. Following France's defeat, Noailles refused to capitulate, captured a British vessel in December 1803, and passed away in Havana on January 6, 1804, just six days after Haiti's independence. The portrait, likely created from life, portrays him in military garb, highlighting his intricate legacy as a soldier advocating for freedom while also defending slavery.