Artwork
Portrait of Cardinal Guillaume Dubois
Portrait of Cardinal Guillaume Dubois is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Rigaud Hyacinthe. It dates from 1723 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Elevated to cardinal in 1721 by Pope Innocent XIII, he continued the tradition of Richelieu and Mazarin in uniting ecclesiastical and political authority.
The painting portrays Cardinal Guillaume Dubois, the French statesman-clergyman who served as chief minister during the Régence following the death of Louis XIV in 1715, when the young Louis XV required a regency under the Duke of Orleans. Dubois, formerly tutor to the Duke, wielded power until his death at Versailles in August 1723, the same year the portrait was completed. Elevated to cardinal in 1721 by Pope Innocent XIII, he continued the tradition of Richelieu and Mazarin in uniting ecclesiastical and political authority.
Rigaud signals this dual identity through specific attributes: a scarlet silk wrap with a shorter fur cape marks his cardinal's rank, while the letter inscribed "Au Roy" (To the King) held in his hand underscores his direct role in royal governance. The legal volumes arranged on the desk beside him allude to his juridical learning and statesmanship, complementing the portrait's broader representation of ecclesiastical authority fused with secular political power at the close of the Régence.
Technique & Style
The portrait is executed in oil on canvas, a standard medium for Rigaud’s court portraits, with measured handling that renders the sitter’s face and hands with smooth, blended transitions to convey age and authority. The scarlet silk wrap and shorter fur cape are rendered with precise, layered brushwork, while the legal tomes on the desk are described with sharp edges and distinct tooling, indicating careful attention to material texture. The composition’s formality, structured around the seated figure, the letter marked “Au Roy,” and the books, aligns with Rigaud’s established court style, emphasizing hierarchical presence and symbolic detail. Physical condition is not detailed in the cited sources.
History & Provenance
The portrait was commissioned in 1723 and completed the same year by Hyacinthe Rigaud, who depicted Cardinal Guillaume Dubois during his tenure as Chief Minister of France. The work was painted in France and shows Dubois in ecclesiastical and political regalia, including a scarlet silk wrap and fur cape, holding a letter addressed "Au Roy" (To the King). After Dubois’s death in August 1723, the painting entered the collection of Edouard Gustave Kann.
It later passed through Rodolphe Kann and Wildenstein & Company before being acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains today.
The Portrait of Cardinal Guillaume Dubois is currently held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio. The work, executed in oil on canvas by Hyacinthe Rigaud in 1723, measures 146.7 cm in height and 113.7 cm in width. Prior to its acquisition by the museum, the painting passed through the hands of Wildenstein & Company and the collection of Rodolphe and Edouard Gustave Kann.
The artwork was featured in the exhibition titled "Hyacinthe Rigaud or the Sun Portrait," which highlighted the artist's portraiture. While specific accession numbers are not detailed in the provided records, the museum's holding confirms its status as a significant example of early 18th-century French portraiture depicting the statesman and clergyman.
Context
Painted in 1723 by Hyacinthe Rigaud, the Portrait of Cardinal Guillaume Dubois exemplifies the artist's mastery of official portraiture during the French Régence. Rigaud, renowned as the court painter to Louis XIV, captured Dubois at the zenith of his power as Chief Minister and newly elevated Cardinal. The work synthesizes religious and political authority, depicting the statesman-clergyman in scarlet silk with legal texts and a letter addressed to the King, symbolizing his dual roles and diplomatic influence.
This composition aligns with Rigaud's broader career of defining aristocratic and ecclesiastical identity through grandeur and specific iconography. The painting's provenance traces from private collections, including Rodolphe Kann's, to its current residence at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it serves as a key document of early 18th-century French political history and Rigaud's enduring legacy in European art.
Legacy
The portrait of Cardinal Guillaume Dubois, painted by Hyacinthe Rigaud in 1723, entered the Cleveland Museum of Art and was featured in the exhibition "Hyacinthe Rigaud or the Sun Portrait," highlighting its continued scholarly attention. Its depiction of Dubois, chief minister during the Régence and architect of the 1716 Anglo-French Alliance, has made the work a visual reference for studies of early Bourbon governance and the intertwining of ecclesiastical and political power. Provenance through notable dealers such as Wildenstein & Company and the Kann family further underscores its recognized status in art-historical narratives.
Overview
Hyacinthe Rigaud's 1723 oil painting, "Portrait of Cardinal Guillaume Dubois," captures a prominent figure of the French Régence period. The work presents Cardinal Dubois, who served as Chief Minister of France, in a formal setting befitting his influential status. This significant historical portrait is currently housed in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
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Artist
Jacint Rigau-Ros i Serra (Catalan pronunciation:; 18 July 1659 – 29 December 1743), known in French as Hyacinthe Rigaud (pronounced ), was a Catalan-French baroque painter most famous for his portraits of Louis XIV and other members of the…
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