Lot 2064 Dα

Philippe de Champaigne was appointed court painter to the French King in Paris in 1628. In the following years, he carried out numerous official commissions for Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu, as well as painting portraits of the royal family and their ministers. In 1633, the King ordered him to carry out an imposing work in oils representing the Duke of Longueville's acceptance to the Order of the Holy Spirit on 14th May 1633. This large-format work, completed between 1634-35 and measuring 293 x 400 cm, is now housed in the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse. The work also depicts Claude de Bullion (1569-1640), who held the office of Chancellor of the Order from 1633-1636. Philippe de Champaigne painted Claude de Bullion in another work at a similar time, portraying the Chancellor in his official robe and wearing the star-shaped badge of the Order with the dove of the Holy Spirit (oil on canvas, 148 x 124 cm, private ownership, USA).
Comparison with the aforementioned works clearly identifies the sitter of this fine portrait to be Claude de Bullion. The fact that he is depicted in his role as Chancellor of the Order dates the work to around 1633-36. In a letter from 15. 8.1997, Jan Kelch, the Director of the Berliner Gemäldegalerie, also confirmed the possibility of this work's attribution to Philippe de Champaigne upon examination of photographs.