François Leclerc du Tremblay
François Leclerc du Tremblay, also known as Père Joseph, was a French Capuchin friar, confidant and agent of Cardinal Richelieu. He was the original éminence grise—the French term for a powerful advisor or decision-maker who operates secretly or unofficially.
Portrait engraving (Bibliothèque Nationale de France)
François Leclerc du Tremblay is the figure in black, depicted descending the staircase in this oil painting (1873) by Jean-Léon Gérôme.
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu, known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church. He became known as l'Éminence Rouge, or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the title "Eminence" applied to cardinals and from the red robes that they customarily wear.
Cardinal de Richelieu by Philippe de Champaigne, 1642 (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg)
The young Louis XIII; only a figurehead during his early reign; power actually rested with his mother Marie de' Medici.
Jean Warin, Cardinal de Richelieu 1622 (obverse), 1631
On the "Day of the Dupes" in 1630, it appeared that Marie de Médicis had secured Richelieu's dismissal. Richelieu, however, survived the scheme, and Marie was exiled as a result.
