Engraving made by the French engraver Pierre Drevet (France, 1663 – 1738): Portrait of Guillaume Dubois (September 6, 1656, Brive-la-Gaillarde – August 10, 1723, Versailles).
Guillaume Dubois gained favor with Louis XIV as tutor to his grandson, the future King Louis XV, and served as chief minister under Louis’s successors, the Regent Duke of Orleans and Louis XV. He was made a cardinal of the Catholic Church in 1721, a lofty aspiration motivated, at least in part, by his political ambition: the title gave him the power to dismiss political opponents with impunity.
In the portrait Dubois holds a letter bearing the words “Au Roy” (to the king), commemorating the moment he had the honor of proclaiming his former student king.
36 X 49.5 cm.
Engraving made by Pierre Drevet (France, 1663 – 1738)
Engraving: Portrait of Guillaume Dubois, French Cardinal and politician.
