Jean II Stuart, connétable de Buchan (+ 1424)

Jean Stuart, second Duke of Buchan, was a Scottish nobleman who served in French military command under the Franco-Scottish alliance of the early fifteenth century, dying at the Battle of Verneuil in 1424. His inclusion in the Versailles historical gallery reflects the July Monarchy's expansive definition of French national history: the Scottish allies who fought and died for France qualified as figures in the French national story. Blondel's 1835 canvas participated in the Versailles programme's effort to create a visual encyclopaedia of French history that included foreign allies alongside French nationals. The portrait is necessarily imaginary — no authentic likeness of Buchan exists — and Blondel constructed his image from historical research into Scottish and French military costume of the period.

The costume and heraldry of a fifteenth-century Scottish nobleman in French service required research into two overlapping visual traditions. Blondel combined Scottish heraldic elements — the Stuart arms, clan regalia — with French military costume conventions of the period, creating an image that visually identified both national traditions.