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Cardinal Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642) was a French clergyman and statesman. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1607 and was appointed foreign secretary in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a cardinal in 1622 and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642; he was succeeded by Cardinal Mazarin, whose career he had fostered.
This picture is an oil-on-canvas painting by French artist Philippe de Champaigne, entitled Triple Portrait of Cardinal de Richelieu, completed c. 1642. The portrait shows the cardinal from three angles: right profile, face-on, and left profile. Aged nearly 60, he wears a scarlet liturgical skullcap (zucchetto) and cape (mozzetta). Under the broad collar of a white shirt, tied at the neck with a trailing string, is the characteristic blue ribbon of the Order of the Holy Spirit, from which hangs the Maltese cross of the order as a pectoral cross. The painting is now in the collection of the National Gallery, London.Painting credit: Philippe de Champaigne