François
Clouet, French portraitist, was probably born in Tours, son of Jean
Clouet. He was trained by his father, but little is known about either
of their lives. François went to the French court at an early age,
and after the death of his father, about 1540, succeeded him as court painter
to Francis I. He continued working in that
office under Henry II, who appointed Clouet
valet de chambre and painter-in-ordinary; then worked for Henry II's sons,
Francis II and Charles IX. Contemporary documents give evidence of
his high reputation. His masterpiece, the Portrait
of Elizabeth of Austria, is one of the finest examples of the
period. Portrait of Apothecarist Pierre
Quthe (1562) and Lady in Her
Bath prove Clouet’s involvement with the Italian Renaissance.
The painter may also have had contacts with the School of Fontainebleau.
Notes
Lady in her Bath. This is one of three portraits the artist signed. For a long time the picture was dated c. 1550 and the model for the bathing woman was supposed to be Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of Henry II. The children in the painting were supposed to be the offspring of her lover Henry II and Catherine de’Medici, who were placed in her care. More recently the date of the picture has been placed c. 1570, toward the end of Clouet’s life. As Diane died in 1566 scholars searched for another royal favorite as a probable model. Gabrielle d’Estrées, mistress of Henry IV, and Marie Touchet, mistress of Charles IX, are the candidates. In 1966, Roger Trinquet published a most fascinating suggestion: he believes the lady to be Mary Queen of Scots and the painting to have been done with satirical intent for some Huguenot patron. Whatever the case, Clouet’s painting made bathing portraits extremely fashionable.
Elisabeth of Austria, Hapsburg, (1554-1592), daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, married in 1570 Charles IX (de Valois) of France, King of France. They had one daughter Marie Elisabeth.
Bibliography:
Painting of Europe. XIII-XX centuries. Encyclopedic Dictionary.
Moscow. Iskusstvo. 1999.
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