Cinq-Mars' Farewell to Marie d'Entraigues

Henri Coiffier de Ruzé d'Effiat, Marquis of Cinq-Mars (1620 - 1642), was a "favourite" of King Louis XIII. After plotting against Cardinal Richelieu he was tried and decapitated with his comrade de Thou in the Place des Terreaux, Lyon.

In 1826, Alfred de Vigny published a historical novel inspired by this event, entitled Cinq-Mars ou Une conjuration sous Louis XIII (French: Cinq-Mars or A Spell on Louis XIII), which piqued the interest of historical painters. In 1829, Paul Delaroche produced Richelieu et Cinq-Mars remontant le Rhône (Richelieu and Cinq-Mars embark on the Rhône) and in 1835 Claude Jacquand displayed a first work, Cinq-Mars et de Thou, depicting the two men being led to their execution, in the Salon. In 1836, Jacquand presented a new work to the Salon, initially entitled Le baiser du départ, after the first chapter of de Vigny's novel.[1]

The composition is inspired by the famous balcony scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.[1]

Jacquand continued his series of paintings on this theme with Cinq-Mars rendant son épée à Louis XIII (Cinq-Mars Presents his Sword to Louis XIII) and with two further works Cinq-Mars à Perpignan (Cinq-Mars at Perpignan) and Cinq-Mars allant au supplice (Cinq-Mars Going to his Execution), which were displayed in the Salon in 1837.[1]

The scene in Les Adieux de Cinq-Mars à Marie d'Entraigues was reproduced in a more serious form by Charles Vogt in 1853.[1]

In 2014, it was displayed at the Musée des beaux-arts de Lyon as part of the exhibition L'invention du Passé. Histoires de cœur et d'épée 1802-1850.

• Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, ed. (2014). L'Invention du Passé. Histoires de coeur et d'épée en Europe 1802-1850 (Exhibition Catalogue) (in French). 2. Paris: Hazan. ISBN 978-2-7541-0760-0. catMBA.