Triple Portrait of Cardinal Richelieu

Painted around 1642 by **Philippe de Champaigne**, this triple portrait of Cardinal **Richelieu** — shown from the front, three-quarter view, and profile — was created as a model for a Roman sculptor commissioned to produce a bust of the minister. Wearing the collar of the Order of the Holy Spirit, Richelieu appears here in the full solemnity of his office as principal minister of State, which he held from 1624 until his death in 1642. This work, now held at the National Gallery in London, remains one of the most famous and widely reproduced depictions of the cardinal, of whom Champaigne, the court's official painter, produced numerous portraits throughout his ministry.