Anne, Duke de Montmorency 1493-1567 was a French soldier and diplomat, serving Francis I who made him Constable of France and Henry II who made him a Duke. He rebuilt his family seat, the Château de Chantilly, attended the Field of the Cloth of Gold and was an Honorary Knight of the Garter.

This portrait is based on a famous image of the sitter known through a studio of François Clouet version (Versailles) and a Léonard Limousin enamel of 1556 (Louvre). This version copies the distinctive cap with pearls and hat-badge and the Order of Saint Michel. The features seem less like those of the original: they may be copying another lost image, or it may even be that a portrait of another sitter entirely has been doctored to become Montmorency.