Towards the end of his life Jean Clouet was assisted in the execution
of his numerous commissions by his brother Clouet de Navarre, to whom
is attributed the _Portrait of Louis de Saint-Gelais, Lord of Lansac,
Captain of one of the “Compagnies des cent Gentilshommes” under Charles
IX._ (No. 134), and by his son François Clouet (1500?-1572). It has
been stated that François Clouet, who was to become after his father’s
death the favourite portrait painter of François I., Henri II.,
Catherine de Médicis, François II., and Charles IX., was born at Tours;
but it is far more likely that he too was born in the Netherlands,
and, while still young, accompanied his father to France. Practically
nothing is known of his life before the year 1541, when François I.
renounced to Clouet his kingly right to the artist’s inheritance, which
could have been claimed by the Crown as the estate of a foreigner. In
the same year François Clouet was appointed Groom of the Chamber and
Painter-in-Ordinary to the King.
The Louvre is fortunate in possessing one of the exceedingly rare
signed pictures by this artist in the _Portrait of Pierre Quthe_ (No.
127A), which was found in Vienna a few years ago by M. Moreau-Nélaton
and presented to the Gallery by that active and patriotic institution,
the Société des Amis du Louvre. Pierre Quthe was a notable burgher and
apothecary of Paris, who owned one of the finest gardens in that city.
He was an intimate friend and neighbour of François Clouet in the rue
St. Avoye. In the Louvre painting, which bears in the left-hand bottom
corner the inscription
FR. IANETII OPVS
E. QUTTO AMICO SINGVLARI
AETATIS SVE XLIII 1562
he is depicted three-quarter-length life size, dressed in a doublet of
black velvet with lace insertions, with a herbarium. The picture hangs
at present on a screen in Gallery XV.
Another unquestionably authentic work is the charming _Portrait of
Elizabeth of Austria, Wife of Charles IX._ (No. 130), of which a
preparatory study in chalk, dated 1571, is to be found in the Paris
Print Cabinet. The face is drawn and modelled with rare delicacy, and
every detail of the richly jewelled gold brocade costume is rendered
with faultless and miniature-like precision.
Yet another precious little picture from the same hand is the small
three-quarter-length _Portrait of Charles IX., King of France_ (No.
128), which is a reduced replica of the signed life-size version in the
Vienna Museum. Both pictures were originally in Vienna, whence they
were removed by Napoleon in 1809, but only the larger picture was taken
back to the Austrian capital in 1815.
The _Portrait of Claude de Beaune_ (No. 133A) is possibly another,
though not very important, work from the master’s own brush; but
neither the _Portrait of François de Lorraine, Duc de Guise_ (No.
131), nor the _Portrait of Henri II., King of France_ (No. 129), are
of sufficient merit to justify their attribution to François Clouet;
whilst the portraits of _Charles IX._ (No. 132) and _Elizabeth of
Austria_ (No. 133) are frankly admitted to be copies after originals by
the master.