Marquis de Pastoret

Claude-Emmanuel-Joseph-Pierre Pastoret is depicted in the year he became Chancellor of France, the culmination of a brilliant forty-year career in public life. The sitter's pose is relaxed and his face thoughtful and unidealized, but his prestige and power are emphasized by the billowing, opulent robes of his office. Pastoret wears the insignia of a Grand Officer of the Order of Saint-Esprit around his neck and the Saint Andrew Cross and Legion of Honor medal on his lapel. Pastoret's son commissioned this portrait from his friend Delaroche, who was primarily a painter of highly detailed historical scenes.