Louis-François-Armand Vignerot du Plessis, duc de Richelieu (1696–1788), great-nephew of Cardinal Richelieu, became a maréchal de France in 1748 and as a courtier, diplomat and soldier was noted for his wit, elegance and self-esteem. He is shown just before his full investiture as a knight of the order of the Saint-Esprit, wearing the white costume of a novice, while the cloak, gloves and order of a full knight lie on the sofa beside him. The image was calculated not only to appeal to the duc’s love of ostentation, but also to remind the observer that he had been called to the order of the Saint Esprit in 1729 at the age of only thirty-two, three years before the normal qualifying age of thirty-five. This is a contemporary reduced copy of a picture painted in 1732 to decorate the duke’s dining room at the château de Richelieu (Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation).