Nicknamed “Ferdinand” or “Elle Ferdinand,” the Elles formed a dynasty of painters of Flemish origin, active in France between 1601 and 1717.
Louis Ferdinand Elle II, known as the Elder, the leading figure of this lineage, practiced his art under the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Regarded as one of the most brilliant portraitists of his time, he worked for a prestigious clientele composed of aristocrats and representatives of monarchical authority. His talent also earned him commissions from the royal family, for whom he painted illustrious figures such as La Grande Mademoiselle, Queen Maria Theresa of Austria, Monsieur (the king’s brother), and Louis XIV himself.
His renowned brush, admired both for its quality and its influence, led to his inclusion among the twelve founding members of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648, where he was appointed professor in 1657. However, the tightening of royal policy toward Protestants resulted in his exclusion in 1681, causing the loss of an important part of his clientele and official commissions. Yet, just two and a half months after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, his abjuration allowed him to rejoin the Academy with full honors. A testimony to this is his Portrait of the Marquise de Maintenon with her niece, commissioned in 1688 for the Royal House of Saint-Cyr (Versailles, inv. MV 2196).
All iconographic clues present in this portrait point to the identification of a man closely linked to power, part of Mazarin’s entourage during his service alongside Anne of Austria during the Regency. Dated 1655, this painting is situated in a context where Louis XIV, who had ascended the throne four years earlier, had not yet assumed full authority. Mazarin’s influence within the King’s Council remained crucial, as did that of his most trusted collaborators. Among them was Michel Le Tellier, Marquis of Barbezieux and Lord of Chaville, Étang, and Viroflay (1603–1685), recognized as one of the principal architects of monarchical absolutism under Louis XIV. On Mazarin’s advice, the young king, then only five years old, appointed him Secretary of State for War in 1643, later naming him Chancellor of France.
In 1655, a new figure emerged in Mazarin’s close circle: Jean-Baptiste Colbert. As the Cardinal’s influential private intendant, he gradually rose in the political sphere around the young Louis XIV. Upon Mazarin’s death in 1661, Colbert joined the King’s Council and was appointed Controller-General of Finances in 1665, then Minister of State.
Strong political ties united Colbert and Le Tellier. Both served the king and played decisive roles in centralizing royal power and asserting absolutism: Colbert through financial reforms supporting the war effort, and Le Tellier through the military organization of the state.
In their respective portraits — both executed in 1655, Le Tellier by Elle and Colbert by Champaigne — the two men display striking similarities. They wear the same hairstyle and nearly identical attire. Both are dressed in the height of contemporary fashion: a black robe with wide sleeves revealing lace-trimmed shirt cuffs, and a white lace collar with scalloped edges, a style typical of the French high nobility and judiciary between 1640 and 1660. Their long, curly hair and finely groomed mustaches reflect aristocratic codes prevailing under Louis XIII and in the early years of Louis XIV’s reign.
In our portrait, Le Tellier poses in the tradition of Dutch portraiture, within an interior adorned with red velvet, where a heavy curtain nearly covers the entire background. The sitter rests on a large velvet-upholstered chair with fringed trim and a tufted back decorated with small floral patterns.
In front of him, a table draped in an ornate tapestry embroidered with stylized floral and vegetal motifs. While his left hand is hidden within the folds of his robe, his right hand rests confidently on a thick book bound in black morocco leather. The spine, decorated with gold tooling, bears the inscription: “Opere di Malvezi”. The book, a symbol of erudition and intellectual authority, is often featured in portraits to signify a role in administration, the judiciary, or state affairs. Even more significantly here, the author — Virgilio Malvezzi (1595–1654) — was an Italian writer involved in diplomacy and political history, highly regarded for his Roman and biblical biographies.
“Il principe deve sapere fingere, dissimulare, e talvolta anche mentire, non per ingannare i buoni, ma per vincere i cattivi.”
“The prince must know how to feign, dissimulate, and at times even lie — not to deceive the good, but to defeat the wicked.”
It is highly plausible that Le Tellier read Malvezzi’s work, as he moved in circles where Italian, Spanish, and Latin political writings were widely circulated — notably under the influence of Cardinal Mazarin, whose vast European library helped disseminate Italian political thought at court. The ideological formation of Louis XIV’s ministers partly relied on readings of Italian authors such as Malvezzi. Translated into French as early as the 1640s, his writings articulated a political philosophy centered on the control and exercise of power — a conception that Le Tellier fully embodied through his central role in the concrete implementation of absolute monarchy in France.
Oscillating between Flemish influences, inherited from Van Dyck, and Italian legacy, evident in his masterful use of chiaroscuro, the artist paid particular attention to the psychological depth of his subject. The sitter’s keen, penetrating gaze suggests sharp intelligence. The delicate rendering of flesh tones, the refined features of the face and visible hand, demonstrate the painter’s skill, whose style stands out for its striking realism, though often idealized to flatter his patrons. In an elegant, almost theatrical posture, Le Tellier — then 52 years old — appears at the height of his career, seemingly frozen in time, immortalizing the nobility of his features and his social success for posterity.
M.O
