Portrait of a Gentleman, said to be Counselor Broussel, bust length, wearing a blue cloak and gold waistcoat

Pierre Broussel was a councelor in the Paris parliament during the second half of the 17th century. He gained popularity through his opposition to the royal court party of the regency of Anne of Austria. His arrest in 1648 led to barricades in Paris. On the demand of Parliament he became governor of the Bastille which had been seized by the people, and in 1652 provost of the Merchants Guild.