Drawing Signed Thierry Bellange Painter From Lorraine, 17th Century

Drawing of Charles Gontaud Biron depicted in armor, beheaded in Paris in 1602, signed by Thierry Bellange, 17th century, ebony frame.
Thierry Bellange (1594-1638) was a painter from Lorraine who trained in the studio of Claude-Israël Henriot, where he worked alongside Jacques Bellange and Claude Deruet. Known for his spontaneity and mannerist style, he decorated churches in Nancy before settling in Paris, where he collaborated with Simon Vouet, Le Brun, Le Sueur and Mignard.
Charles de Gontaut, Duke of Biron (1562-1602), was a brilliant soldier, appointed Marshal of France and Duke, who distinguished himself during the Wars of Religion under Henry IV. However, his ambition and dissatisfaction led him to conspire against the king with Spain and Savoy, resulting in his arrest and execution for treason on July 31, 1602, at the Bastille. His execution was a sensational event, as he was one of the first marshals of France to be convicted of treason. Henry IV, who had hesitated to order the death of a man he had once admired, used this act to assert his authority and dissuade other nobles from plotting against him.