Splendid likenesses of prominent ecclesiastical dignitaries are to be found among the portraits which complete this interesting gallery, but one there is which we must pause to contemplate, and it is the faithfully reproduced portrait of that extraordinary human being, J. Paul de Gondi, better known as the Cardinal de Retz. In a masterpiece of draughtsmanship, Morin duplicates the art of de Champaigne in expressing all the cleverness and daring, the ambition and the sense of humor, of this born gambler, whose genius for intrigue was at the bottom of the war of the Fronde. One can see him, with his yellow, oily face, unkempt and unshaven, limping through the narrow streets of Paris, distributing largesses among a populace which, the following hour, he would betray to the nobles, and then again champion.
As a pendant we have the brilliantly executed head of Omer Talon, avocat-général du Parlement, the greatest pillar of French jurisprudence and a great man in his day; it is a plate which Rembrandt would have deigned to look at more than once.
Morin. Jean-François-Paul de Gondi
This personage is better known by his later title of Cardinal de Retz
After the painting by Philippe de Champaigne
Size of the original engraving, 11½ × 9⅛ inches
Morin. Omer Talon
Advocate-General of the Parliament of Paris
After the painting by Philippe de Champaigne
Size of the original engraving, 12¼ × 9⅛ inches