80 - French School, circa 1800. Portrait said to be of Henri II, Duke of Montmorency. Oil on canvas. H.: 206 cm - W.: 110 cm. Inscribed in the lower right corner

French School, circa 1800. Portrait said to be of Henri II, Duke of Montmorency. Oil on canvas. H.: 206 cm - W.: 110 cm. Inscribed in the lower right corner Henri II de Montmorency (1595–1632), the last representative of the eldest branch of the Montmorency family, was one of the most distinguished nobles of the reign of Louis XIII. Admiral of France, viceroy of New France, and governor of Languedoc, he distinguished himself during the wars against the Protestants, notably by defeating the fleet of Benjamin de Rohan, Lord of Soubise, off La Rochelle in 1625, helping to restore the monarchy’s control over the Atlantic coast. Elevated to the rank of Marshal of France in 1630, he nevertheless joined Gaston d’Orléans’s revolt against Cardinal Richelieu two years later. Defeated and captured at Castelnaudary, he was convicted of high treason and beheaded in Toulouse on October 30, 1632.