Exceptionally small in scale, even for the diminutive work of Jean Petitot, this enamel of Cardinal Mazarin is one of the most accomplished works produced by the artist, who is widely considered to be the most distinguished enamel painter of the seventeenth century. Petitot trained under Henri Toutin in Paris, before travelling to the court of Charles I in London, where he pioneered the art of painting small-scale portraits in enamel under the guidance of the King's physician, Sir Theodore Turquet de Mayerne, and with the assistance of Van Dyck. He was forced to leave England by the outbreak of the Civil War, but quickly became established at the French court as Court Painter in Enamel to Louis XIV. The minute detail, smooth finish and rich colouring of his work ensured a constant demand for his work, which was met by the assistance of members of his workshop including his brother-in-law, Jacques Bordier, and later his son, Jean Petitot the Younger (1653-1702).

The present enamel is close to portraits of the Cardinal by Philippe de Champaigne and Pierre Mignard. Petitot's practice was to use contemporary oil portraits to form the basis of his enamels, but then to complete the likeness with one or two direct sittings from the subject, so that his enamels are rarely direct copies from surviving prototypes. It may be the enamel listed in the royal accounts in 1807 as 'very fine of Cardinal Mazarin, enamelled by Petitot' and set in the same year in a 'round Tortoiseshell Snuff Box, mounted & lined with gold to screw off, with pictures concealed'.

Jules Mazarin became chief minister of France on the death of Cardinal Richelieu in 1642 and directed policy almost continuously until his death in 1661. He was made a cardinal in 1641.