Pierre II, Sire of Beaujeu, Duke of Bourbon, Presented by Saint Peter

Pierre II, Sire of Beaujeu, Duke of Bourbon, Presented by Saint Peter, in the Louvre, is the companion wing to the portrait of Anne of France, showing her husband Pierre de Bourbon kneeling at prayer, presented by his patron saint. The choice of Saint Peter as intercessor is not only a pun on the donor's name but an assertion of apostolic authority, placing Pierre under the protection of the church's founding figure. This conjunction of worldly power and ecclesiastical protection is characteristic of the aristocratic devotional portrait.

Pierre's portrait is given the same precision as his wife's companion panel, the Duke's features described with the unsparing specificity that marks Hey's portraiture as among the finest of the period. The apostolic Saint Peter, holding his keys, is placed beside his patron with the natural, non-theatrical ease that distinguishes Hey's handling of sacred figures from more stilted workshop productions.