# Cardinal Fleury Dying in the Arms of Religion [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [BOUCHARDON, Edme]() - Date: 1701-1750 - Technique: Wax, height 165 cm ## Commentary The royal project for a monument of Cardinal Fleury was not realized. Judging from the surviving maquettes, it seems likely that he would there have achieved an indisputable masterpiece. The death of the aged minister in 1743 was quickly followed by the king's expressed desire to build a worthy tomb for him. Among the competitors Bouchardon, Lemoyne, and Adam stood out; it was Bouchardon who received the commission, but for reasons never made explicit he did not execute the tomb. When it was finally carved by Lemoyne, the cardinal's family — not the king - paid. Bouchardon designed four models for the monument, the picture shows the second maquette representing Fleury expiring in the arms of Religion. ## Related artworks - [Bust of Philipp Stosch]() - [Bust of Pope Clement XII]() - [Cardinal Fleury Dying in the Arms of Religion]() - [Cupid Making a Bow out of the Club of Hercules]() - [Equestrian Statue of Louis XV]() - [Flagellation of Christ]() - [Fountain \(detail\)]() - [Fountain]() - [Study for the Equestrian Statue of Louis XV]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()