Philippe de Champaigne and studio, 'Triple Portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu', probably 1642
About the work
Overview
This triple portrait was intended as a model for a full-length statue of Armand-Jean du Plessis, duc de Richelieu (1585–1642), who became Cardinal in 1622 and the Chief Minister of France in 1624. He wears a Cardinal’s robe, skull cap and blue ribbon adorned with the Order of the Holy Spirit, symbolised by the dove at the bottom of the painting. The head is repeated in this painting in three different poses: facing forward and in profile turned to the right and left. The central portrait relates to the artist’s full-length painting Cardinal de Richelieu, also in the National Gallery. The triple portrait was executed in Paris and sent to Rome to the Italian sculptor Francesco Mochi (1580–1654) in around 1642.
Champaigne probably painted the central and right heads: an inscription above the latter reads: ‘this is the better one’. The rest of the painting was likely carried out by his workshop.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Triple Portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu
- Artist
- Philippe de Champaigne and studio
- Artist dates
- 1602 - 1674
- Date made
- probably 1642
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 58.7 × 72.8 cm
- Inscription summary
- Inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks, 1869
- Inventory number
- NG798
- Location
- Room 29
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 17th-century French Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Humphrey Wine, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth Century French Paintings’, London 2001; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
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2014Mousquetaires!Musée de l'Armée2 April 2014 - 14 July 2014
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2021Poussin and the DanceThe National Gallery (London)9 October 2021 - 3 January 2022
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2023L’immagine sovrana. Urbano VIII e i BarberiniGalleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica di Palazzo Barberini15 March 2023 - 30 July 2023
Bibliography
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1910M. Reymond, 'Le buste du Cardinal de Richelieu par le Bernin au Musée du Louvre', Bulletin des musées de France, 1910, pp. 65-8
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1922F. Ingersoll-Smouse, 'Dans les musées anglais. Quelques enrichissements nouveaux', Revue de l'art ancien et moderne, XX, 1922, pp. 399-404
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1924S. Meunier, Philippe de Champaigne, Paris 1924
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1930F. Boucher, 'Sur quelques portraits du Cardinal de Richelieu', Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, 1930, pp. 192-208
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1938P. Della Pergola, 'Due busti di Francesco Mocchi', L'arte, 1938, pp. 167-78
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1943M. Charageat, 'Richelieu, sa statue et ses bustes', Journal des débats, 1943
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1946Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, London 1946
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1949M. Charageat, 'La Statue et les Bustes de Richelieu par Francesco Mocchi', in H. Bédarida (ed.), A travers l'art italien du XVe au XXe siècle, Paris 1949, vol. 2, pp. 153-62
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1953A. Blunt, Art and Architecture in France 1500-1700, London 1953
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1955R. Wittkower, G. L. Bernini, London 1955
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1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
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1963A. Ryszkiewicz, 'Sur les tableaux de Philippe de Champaigne en Pologne', Bulletin des Musées Nationaux de Varsovie, IV, 1963, pp. 27-9
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1966P. Rosenberg, Philippe de Champaigne, Milan 1966
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1970B. Dorival, 'Un portrait inconnu de Richelieu par Philippe de Champaigne', Revue du Louvre, 1970, pp. 15-28
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1975M. Laurain-Portemer, 'Mazarin Militant de l'art baroque au temps de Richelieu (1634-1642)', Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, 1975, pp. 5-100
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1976B. Dorival, Philippe de Champaigne, 1602-1674: La vie, l'oeuvre, et le catalogue raisonné, Paris 1976
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1976M. Charageat, 'Le buste de Richelieu par Francesco Mocchi au Musée du Louvre', Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, 1976, pp. 95-8
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1977J.R. Gaborit, 'Le Bernin, Mocchi et le buste de Richelieu du Musée du Louvre: Un problème d'attribution', Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, LXXXVIII, 1977, pp. 85-91
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1988R. Recht and M.-J. Geyer, A qui ressemblons-nous?: Le portrait dans les Musées de Strasbourg (exh. cat. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg, 22 April - 31 July 1988), Strasbourg 1988
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1992M. Levey, Painting and Sculpture in France 1700-1789, New Haven 1992
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1992N. Schneider, Porträtmalerei 1420-1670, Cologne 1992
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1992H. Wine and O. Koester, Fransk Guldalder: Poussin and Claude and French Painting of the Seventeenth Century, (exh. cat. Statens Museum for Kunst, 29 February - 3 May 1992), Copenhagen 1992
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1994N. Borrmann, Kunst und Physiognomik: Menschendeutung und Menschendarstellung im Abendland, Cologne 1994
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1995J. Gonçalves, Philippe de Champaigne, le patriarche de la peinture, 1602-1674, Paris 1995
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2001Wine, Humphrey, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth Century French Paintings, London 2001
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.