Portrait du duc de Richelieu

Lawrence's portrait of the Duc de Richelieu around 1822 at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Besançon documents a figure who embodied the paradox of French aristocratic loyalty in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic period. The Duc de Richelieu — though not a direct descendant of Cardinal Richelieu, sharing the title through collateral inheritance — had spent the Revolutionary period in Russian exile, serving as Governor of Odessa under Tsar Alexander and transforming the city from a modest port into the thriving commercial capital it became. Returning to France with the Bourbon Restoration, he served as Prime Minister twice, his Russian experience and his genuine moderation making him one of the Restoration's most effective political figures. Lawrence met Richelieu in Paris during his European portrait tour, and the commission reflected the French aristocratic world's recognition of Lawrence as the preeminent European portraitist of the moment. The Besançon museum's holding connects the portrait to the French regional collection network that preserved significant European paintings outside Paris, creating a more distributed geography of major works than the centralized cultural apparatus of Paris would otherwise allow.

Lawrence renders the French statesman with the international polish appropriate to a man who had served both Russian and French governments at the highest levels. The composed expression and formal treatment reflect diplomatic gravitas, while the warm coloring gives life to what may be a posthumous likeness.