Portrait of Richelieu

Philippe de Champaigne painted this Portrait of Richelieu around 1642, one of his latest likenesses of the cardinal who died in December of that year. By this date Champaigne had been the cardinal's principal painter for over a decade and had produced numerous versions of his portrait — for diplomatic gifts, for display in the cardinal's palaces and those of his allies, and for the cardinal's own use. This late portrait shows the increased austerity and psychological concentration of Champaigne's mature style, the Baroque richness of his earlier treatment of the cardinal's robes giving way to a more contained, even severe rendering. The cardinal, who was dying as this portrait was painted, appears with the gravity appropriate to a man whose career had defined French history for a generation.

The three-quarter view captures Richelieu's characteristic aquiline features with Champaigne's signature precision, while the cardinal's red robes are rendered in rich, layered glazes.