Portrait of Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke and Cardinal de Richelieu
The printmaker Michel Lasne trained in the workshop of Rubens. However, the master did not find Lasne’s interplay of lines sufficiently dynamic for translating his paintings into prints. His taut style, however, did appeal to the French king Louis XIII and he was even appointed court engraver. In this capacity, Lasne engraved numerous portraits of members of the French court.