Portrait of Henri de Lorraine, Count d'Harcourt, Armagnac & Brionne

Mignard, Nicholas, after · 1667

Engraved portrait on paper of Henri de Lorraine (1601-1666), Count of Harcourt, Armagnac and Brionne, engraved by Antonie Masson (1636-1700) and published by Nicolas de Poilly (1627-1696) in Paris in 1667. It is a copy in reverse of a painting by Nicolas Mignard (1606-1668), current whereabouts unknown. Henri de Lorriane earned the nickname 'Cadet à la Perle' for his habit of wearing a pearl earring. He wears an armour breastplate and holds a baton, gauntlets and plumed helmet rest on the table. Around his neck is the insignia of the Order of the Saint-Esprit (Holy Spirit): a Maltese cross with fleur-de-lis between each arm, and a dove descending at its centre. In the distance, a fortress on fire illuminates the night sky, perhaps a reference to the taking of Turin after a three month siege (1640). His coat of arms (in reverse) in the lower margin is flanked by four lines of verse in French: L'Honneur qu'il s'est acquis est sy grand et sy juste | Et l'on aura pour luy tant d'estime et d'Amour | Que comme les grands Roys prenent le nom d'Auguste | Les plus fameux heros predront celuy d'harcour.