A lover of luxury and beautiful things, Cardinal Mazarin was a passionate art collector. He succeeded Cardinal de Richelieu, also a great lover of the arts. Throughout his life, the wealthy cardinal-minister of Kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV accumulated paintings, furniture and antiques. His roman agents sent him crates of artworks, including 15th and 16th century paintings and statues from the Roman Empire, such as this bust from around 130 AD. On his death, Mazarin bequeathed a large part of his collections to the Crown: they became part of the Louvre Museum during the Revolution.