Cardinal de Richelieu

A 1642 watercolour painting of Cardinal de Richelieu by the French artist, Philippe de Champaigne (1602-1674). De Champaigne was well-known for his numerous portraits of Cardinal de Richelieu, the Chief Minister of King Louis XIII of France. The watercolour shows the left side of Richelieu's portrait. The portrait was done as part of a series that was sent to England in 1642 for a British sculptor to apparently create a bust of Richelieu. As England and France were at war, Richelieu at the time could not go to England and sit for his portrait. Short Biography: Philippe de Champaigne was born in 1602 in Brussels in Belgium. Later in his life, he became a French court painter. He passed away in Paris in 1674.