Buste d'Armand-Jean du Plessis, Cardinal duc de Richelieu (1585-1642) France, XVIIIe siècle

le regard légèrement tourné vers sa droite, la tête coiffée d'une calotte, il est vêtu d'une robe à grand col, décoré du collier de l'ordre du Saint-Esprit, un large manteau en hermine drapé sur ses épaules

 

REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHIQUES
V. Krahn, Von allen Seiten schön. Bronzen der Renaissance und des Barock, Berlin, 1995/96, p. 508, n° 185; H. Todd Goldfarb (ed.), Richelieu. Art and Power, cat. exp. Montreal, Cologne, 2002, nos. 1-2, 22-5, 110, pp. 72-4, 105-9, 260-3; A. Bacchi, C. Hess, J. Montagu, A-L Desmas, Bernini and the Birth of Baroque Portrait Sculpture, cat. exp. J. P. Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2008, no. 6.4, pp. 250-3.

Overall the condition of the bronze is good. There is wear and some minor dirt to the surface consistent with age. There is rubbing to the patinain the raised areas and some overall wear and tarnishing to the gilding. The shoulders were cast separately and riveted in place. There is an oval patch on the back of the cap. There are a few minor nicks and scratches including to the tip of the nose. There is some rubbing to the ebonized socle.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Ce beau portrait en bronze du Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), premier ministre de Louis XIII, rappelle par son attitude - le visage tourné vers la droite - ainsi que par l'attention portée au traitement de la fourrure, le célèbre buste réalisé en 1640 par Jean Warin (1607-1672), et fondu par Hubert Le Sueur (1580-1658) (bibliothèque Mazarine). Notre portrait représente une variante épurée du célèbre modèle baroque de Warin.  Il n'est pas non plus sans rappeler le marbre  commandé par Richelieu lui-même à Gianlorenzo Bernini en 1641 (Musée du Louvre, inv. no. MR 2165), et sa version en bronze, grandeur nature, réalisé au courant du XVIIe siècle et ayant appartenu à Frédéric le Grand. (Potsdam, château Sanssouci, cf. V. Krahn, op.cit.).

This fine bronze bust of Cardinal Richelieu resembles, both in pose, with the head angled to the proper right, and in the emphasis on the fur garment sitting under the star of the order of the Saint-Esprit, the celebrated bust by Jean Warin (1607-1672) of Richelieu in the Bibliothèque Mazarine, Paris, dating to 1640. The present bust is, however, a more simplified rendering of this Baroque model and, in this respect, can be compared with later revivals inspired by Warin's bust and that of Gianlorenzo Bernini (Musée du Louvre, inv. no. MR 2165), of which the fine bronze version is in the Sanssouci castle in Potsdam (cf. V. Krahn, op.cit.).