Description: This is a masterful, historically significant and Fine Antique 19th c. Old Master Musketeer Portrait Oil Painting on canvas, depicting a young Cardinal Richelieu (1585 - 1682.) Richelieu wielded enormous power in France and was infamously portrayed in the Three Musketeers tales by Alexander Dumas. This portrait is not a copy of any known painting. I have spent hours of research and scoured the internet, and this image appears to be completely original. The subject is depicted with his trademark red satin robe and facial hair, and poses with his left hand on a table, near a bouquet of flowers. A landscape scene is visible in the distance due to a partially opened curtain. This work approximately dates from the middle to late 1800's, and it is my personal theory that this painting is a copy of a 17th century original portrait which is now Lost to Time or has been in a private collection for centuries and has never before been exposed to the public. I invite you to do your own research. This piece is apparently not signed, but an annotation written on the center stretcher bar reads: "Richelieu...Cardinal in 3 musketeers." This is a large, nearly full-sized portrait, at approximately 33 1/2 x 43 3/4 inches (including frame.) Actual artwork is approximately 26 x 36 inches. Shipping will be high, due to the size and weight of this painting. However, Free Local Pickup from Los Angeles County, California is also an option. Good condition for age, with a few small tears and areas of paint loss, craquelure throughout (please see photos.) Frame had mild scuffing and edge wear. Acquired from the contents of a private antique collection in Los Angeles, California. Priced to sell. You will not find any 100+ year old oil painting portrait of Cardinal Richelieu anywhere currently. If you like what you see, I encourage you to make an Offer. Please check out my other listings for more wonderful and unique artworks! About Cardinal Richelieu: Cardinal Richelieu(Armand Jean du Plessis) 1585–1682 Cardinal Richelieu was extremely influential in seventeenth-century France, as he was both a powerful member of the clergy and the prime minister to Louis XIII during his reign as king. He is most well-known for his large part in the Thirty Years’ War and the establishment of L’Académie français, an organization acting as official authority on the French language. He also worked to remove Protestants and the feudal nobility from power, creating a centralized, unified state that responded only to the king. Richelieu was unpopular among the common people as well as the nobility, though, and several rebellions and political plots were attempted against him, only to be found out and put down by the crafty cardinal.After his father passed away while fighting in the French Wars of Religion, the young Richelieu and his family were granted diocesan funds by King Henry III to console them for their loss. Clergymen, however, wished the money to be spent for ecclesiastical purposes, and in order to secure their claim to the much-needed income, Richelieu was chosen to become bishop of the area at the age of twenty-three. He was the first bishop in France to implement changes brought about by the Council of Trent, and was therefore thought of as a reformer, admired by his fellow Church leaders but despised by the lower classes. He was made a representative in the Estates-General of 1614, and he effectively became the voice of the upper-class clergy; he was a strong advocate of the Church and pressed for more power for bishops and exemption from taxes. Richelieu was initially influential in the French court but fell from power after the assassination of his patron, a great minister much loved by the Queen. After the death of the king’s favorite, however, he secured a position as Louis XIII’s chief minister. He then turned to more political matters, specifically his goals of centralizing France and destroying the Habsburg monarchy. He strived toward the first by suppressing the power of the nobility, tearing down their defenses and quickly arousing their anger. Seeking religious unity to complete the process, he warred with the Protestant Huguenots and removed their political rights and protections. He also fought the Habsburgs in Northern Italy, leaving his large network of spies to oversee tensions at home. Despite several schemes meant to lead to his downfall, he was still in power during the later half of the Thirty Years’ War, and he organized several alliances with Protestant powers to give France the upper hand in battle. Strapped for funds, he raised salt and land taxes, leading the peasants to revolt against his unfair measures and greatly increasing their dislike for the cardinal. These rebellions were easily put down, and Richelieu dealt harshly with the conspirators. He successfully ended the Habsburg monarchy during the Thirty Years’ War, and he remained in power until a year before his death.After suffering from several long-term diseases, Richelieu passed away at the age of 57. He was embalmed and buried in the church of the Sorbonne. His mummified and well-preserved face was stolen during the French Revolution and changed hands multiple times before being returned to its owner during the reign of Napoleon.
Price: 2750 USD
Location: Orange, California
End Time: 2024-09-27T16:56:36.000Z
Shipping Cost: 45 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Artist: Unknown
Size: Large
Signed: No
Title: "Richelieu...Cardinal in 3 Musketeers"
Period: Victorian (1830-1900)
Material: Canvas, Oil
Region of Origin: California, USA
Framing: Framed
Subject: Cathedrals, Community Life, Costumes, Figures, Men, History, Portrait, Religious, Three Musketeers
Type: Painting
Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
Item Height: 43 3/4 in
Theme: Art, Conflicts & Wars, Continents & Countries, Fairy Tales, Famous Places, Fashion, History, People, Politics, Portrait, Religious, Royalty
Style: Figurative Art, Portraiture, Realism, Old Master
Features: One of a Kind (OOAK)
Production Technique: Oil Painting
Country/Region of Manufacture: United Kingdom
Handmade: Yes
Item Width: 33 1/2 in
Time Period Produced: 1850-1899
