FRANÇOIS CLOUET AND HIS FOLLOWERS
Francis I, King of France, survived Jean Clouet but a few years, so that
the artistic career of his celebrated son, François, chiefly developed
during the reigns of Henri II, Francis II and Charles IX.
It is difficult to determine what effect Jean Clouet's death had upon
his son, but we are led to suppose that at first he continued closely to
adhere to parental teaching. Indeed from 1540 to 1545 it is scarcely
possible to discern any of those differences of style so conspicuous a
decade later.
Two female portraits, still existing, seem to give weight to this
argument. These likenesses, although in the style of the elder Clouet,
from the age and the attire of the sitters can only have been drawn
during the years 1544-5, by which date that artist had already vanished
from the scenes and his son was at work alone.
These drawings represent _Jossine Pisseleu_[112] (niece of the famous
Duchesse d'Estampe), better known under the name of "Hegli," and the
beautiful daughter of Diane de Poitiers, called "Brasseu."[113] Both of
these portraits are rendered specially interesting by the fact that
their respective names are written on the margin by Queen Catherine de
Medicis. These two ladies, Hegli and Brasseu, are known to have belonged
to that gay company known as _la petite bande_, of which the young
Catherine herself, when Dauphine, was also a member.
Francis I, thanks to his own great taste for Art, comprehended to the
full the different talents of the artists in his employ; and whilst he
commissioned Rosso and Primaticcio to execute the frescoes at
Fontainebleau, the two Clouets were successively entrusted with such
portrait painting as he required.
At Chantilly there is an exquisite portrait of _Louise de Clermont,
Duchesse d'Uzez_, another of the fair members of the _petite bande_ whom
the King nicknamed "la Grenouille" on account of her husky voice and
projecting eyes: a drawing which belongs to the same series already
referred to; that is to say, an early work with which François Clouet
was commissioned after his father's demise. A miniature taken from this
drawing is preserved in the Louvre.
[Illustration: PLATE LXII.
_Photo. Hanfstaengl._
Francis I.
Attributed to Jean Clouet.
Louvre.
_Photo. Giraudon._
Marguerite of Angoulême.
(Sister of Francis I. and Queen of Navarre).
Attributed to François Clouet.
Musée Condé.]
Henri II, whilst Dauphin, had apparently not much chance to employ
either of the Clouets, since their time was almost entirely monopolised
by the King; but there is evidence to prove that Catherine de Medicis'
children were repeatedly painted by Germain le Mannier[114] and his
brother Alois. There exist pencil sketches of _Francis II_ at the age of
five, and again at eight years and five months; to which latter there is
a pendant representing his _fiancée, Mary, Queen of Scots_, at the age
of nine and a half. There is another of _Charles IX_ aged between four
and five years. All of these were executed by this artist and are now in
the portfolios at Chantilly.
With reference to these drawings there is a letter still extant, written
on June 1 1552 by Queen Catherine to M. Humières (who with his wife were
in charge of the Royal nurseries at Saint-Germain-en-Laye), in which she
expresses a desire to have all her children, sons and daughters,
including _la Royne d'Ecosse_,[115] painted "_sans rien oublier de leur
visages_." There is also a letter from Henri II, written on the eve of
his accession, expressing a desire to recompense the painter Mannier.
This, however, did not prevent him, as soon as he became King, from
taking up François Clouet, whom he commissioned not only to make a
_post-mortem_ effigy of the late King, but also to prepare an official
representation of himself. His own portrait bears a note upon it,
apparently in the artist's own handwriting, "_Le Roy Henry 2_"[116]:
handwriting which bears close similarity to an existing quittance signed
_F. Clouet_. This drawing, now in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris,
became very popular. A version completed in colours, is now in the
Louvre: it was reproduced in miniature; and many copies were
subsequently made by lesser hands.
Contemporary with this portrait is a powerful likeness of the _Grand
Connétable, Anne de Montmorency_,[117] evidently taken from life. In
this drawing the individuality of the artist is very marked: more
realistic in his tendencies than his father, he is on that account more
French. This great warrior, the Lord of Chantilly, is shown here when at
the height of his fame, in high favour with the King and with _l'amie du
roi_, Diane de Poitiers.[118] This famous lady herself sat to François
Clouet, and so apparently about the same time did Catherine de Medicis,
and also Jeanne d'Albret,[119] Queen of Navarre. It is interesting to
compare the likeness of this latter princess, so eloquent of a noble
mind and a frank disposition, with that of Catherine de Medicis, past
mistress in the art of dissimulation.
[Illustration: Plate LXIII.
_Photo. Hanfstaengl._
CHARLES IX.
François Clouet. About 1569.
Vienna Gallery.
_To face page 230._]
Drawings and portraits of Catherine as Dauphine and as Queen of France
are comparatively rare. It is as a Queen-Dowager, growing old and well
away on her career of dangerous intrigue, that we chiefly meet her in
the Galleries of Europe. No small value can therefore be attached to the
drawing in the British Museum which came to the nation through the
Salting Bequest, inasmuch as it brings her before us at the period when
her husband had just ascended the throne of France; and to another
likeness at Chantilly, attributed to Corneille de Lyon, which is
supposed to be the one executed when she passed through Lyons with Henri
II in 1564. Brantôme relates that upon this occasion the great Diane de
Poitiers received more homage than the Queen herself, and that portraits
were drawn of all the royal ladies, amongst whom was the King's sister
Marguerite (soon to become Duchess of Savoy). The writer further tells
us how Catherine, when fifteen years later she revisited Lyons as
Queen-Mother, displayed much amusement at the old-fashioned attire in
which she and her Court ladies had then been portrayed.
To the years between 1559 and 1570 belong the drawings in the
Bibliothèque Nationale, which are considered as marking the height of
this artist's power. Such, for instance, are the portraits of _Maréchal
Strozzi_ (1567) and of _Maréchal de Vielville_[120] (1566), supposed to
have been dated by the artist himself, a circumstance which greatly adds
to their value.
We are on certain ground with regard to the genuineness of the signed
and dated portrait of _Charles IX_ now at Vienna; but, strange to say,
the date has here clearly been tampered with. We can ascertain this from
the fact that the young King in the portrait seems certainly only about
twenty years of age, and since he was born in 1550 the date upon the
picture ought to be 1569 instead of 1563. Furthermore, the original
drawing (now at St. Petersburg) from which this finished painting was
executed is dated 1569. There is also a miniature taken from it in the
Louvre.
It would lead us too far if we were to mention all the drawings which
bear the stamp of this master's own hand, but there are some on which we
ought to dwell as being examples of his finest work. Amongst these are
the drawings in the Bibliothèque Nationale of the boy-King _Francis
II_[121] and of his young and beautiful bride, _Mary Stuart, Queen of
Scots_.
In the delicate and subtle pencil drawing of the latter, more than in
all her other portraits, we can detect traces of her world-renowned
beauty; and this is how she must have looked when, with her young
husband beside her, and surrounded by the great dignitaries of State,
she entered the Cathedral of Notre Dame for her Coronation. Clouet has
succeeded in conveying to us something of the sweetness of her smile,
her wistful expression, and the thoughtful look in her eyes. In the
miniature at Windsor, which is said to have been reproduced from this
drawing, much of the refinement has been lost, and more attention has
been paid to accessories, _i.e._ her dress and her ornaments.[122]
[Illustration: _Mary Stuart
as Dauphine of France
From the drawing in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris._]
A later drawing, in which the young Queen is represented in her _deuil
blanc_ as a widow, is among the framed drawings at Chantilly: a portrait
probably executed by François Clouet when she was on the point of
leaving her beloved France. This is apparently a reproduction from a
lost original, and it found its way to Chantilly with the Lenoir
Collection. It is no doubt the last likeness of Mary Stuart made in
France. The charm which Clouet so deftly imparted to the portraits of
this unhappy Queen seems entirely absent from all the numerous
likenesses subsequently made in England by other artists. How hard and
set, for instance, do her features seem in the life-size oil-painting by
Oudry at Hardwick Hall. All that we can perceive in it is the only
too-evident havoc wrought by fate upon that beautiful face.
François Clouet's highest capabilities may be traced in the water-colour
sketch at Chantilly which represents _Margot de France_,[123] youngest
daughter of Catherine de Medicis, in her girlhood. It is exhibited in
the Psyche Gallery and is considered one of the gems of the collection.
Since correct drawing from life was the artist's first thought this
preparatory sketch is superior to the painting, also in all probability
executed by the artist himself, which a rare chance has brought into the
same gallery. This latter is supposed to be the actual portrait sent by
Catherine to her daughter Elizabeth, wife of Philip II of Spain, which
the Infante Don Carlos admired so much. Comparing the portrait with
those of the other marriageable princesses of Europe, he exclaimed,
"This little one is the prettiest of all"; whereat Elizabeth de Valois
in a letter to her mother writes: "_Le Prince était demeuré en extase
devant le miroir délicieuse de la mignonne_."
Clouet has painted the little Princess in a robe of delicate silver
tissue adorned with pearls; more pearls are round her neck and
intertwined amid the tresses of her hair. Her expression displays that
_joie de vivre_ which is known to have been one of her most marked
characteristics throughout her whole life.
It is, however, in the sketch that the high qualities of François Clouet
as a portrait-painter specially assert themselves. Here he appears as a
refined Holbein, endowed with graceful and elegant French qualities.
Light and shadow are barely perceptible but are nevertheless
sufficiently present to produce the necessary plastic feeling. The
costume and the jewels, though reproduced with closest accuracy, do not
mar the harmony, nor do they overpower the clearly defined features
which retain their fullest importance and prominence.
[Illustration: Plate LXV.
Photo. Giraudon.
ELISABETH OF AUSTRIA, QUEEN OF FRANCE.
François Clouet (About 1567).
Bibl. Nat. Paris.
Photo. Giraudon.
JOSSINE DE PISSELEU, NICKNAMED HEGLI.
François Clouet (About 1542).
Musée Condé.
_To face page 234._]
Another portrait by François Clouet, equalling this in excellence, is
that of _la bonne petite reine, Elizabeth of Austria_ in the Louvre--the
youthful consort of Charles IX, whose simple virtues shone out so
conspicuously during a most degenerate period in the history of the
French Court. The perfection of draughtsmanship in the delicate features
is astonishing; and the colouring, of a pale rosy hue, is most
effective. The hands, placed one over the other, have in their graceful
movements been justly likened to the petals of a white lily. There is a
copy of this picture at Chantilly, probably also by François Clouet, but
the exquisite hands are absent. Nor are they to be found in the
original drawing in the Bibliothèque Nationale, in the famous Lecurieur
album which once belonged to François Clouet's own nephew, Benjamin
Foulon. _Maréchal Strozzi_, _Madame de Retz_, _Albert de Gondi the Duc
de Retz_, _Robert de la Marck_, _the Duc de Bouillon_, _Jeanne d'Albret
in deep mourning_, and many others, have the same _provenance_ and all
bear notes in Foulon's[124] handwriting. It has been suggested by Henri
Bouchot that these admirable designs came to the nephew from his uncle
who had preserved them in his studio in order to reproduce them
subsequently in colour. We may presume then that these original pencil
drawings were the immediate work of François Clouet, whilst the coloured
portraits were reproduced from them either by himself (as in the case of
the portraits of _Elizabeth of Austria_ in the Louvre and at Chantilly)
or by the hands of his pupils.
There is, however, one exception to this proposition in the case of the
portrait of _Pierre Quthe_ recently acquired for the Louvre. It
certainly appears to be a portrait painted direct from life and not
reproduced from a drawing; and it reveals to us a new and more intimate
characteristic of the artist; since he has here shown us one of his own
personal friends, with whom he, no doubt, had many tastes in common.
Had this not been so he would not have appended to the picture the
following inscription: FR. JANETT OPUS PE. QUTTIO. AMICO SINGULARI
ETATIS SVE XLIII, 1562. This portrait, therefore, when compared, for
instance, with that of _Charles IX_ at Vienna, gives the impression of
being less conventional and more sympathetic. It has the same bluish
curtain in the background, and an open book lies on the table, in which
may be seen representations of certain plants, alluding to the fact that
the person represented was well known as a botanist.
Since the discovery of the portrait of _Pierre Quthe_ we can have no
hesitation in attributing to François Clouet another life-size portrait
at Chantilly: namely, that of _Cardinal Odet de Coligny_,
hitherto--though with some reserve--assigned to Primaticcio on account
of a misleading signature evidently posterior to the painting. This
portrait and that of _Henri II (Cabinet Clouet)_ (also attributed, and
with much more reason, to Primaticcio), clearly exhibit the difference
between the respective artists without need for any further comment. The
curtain in the background, for which François had so decided a
predilection, is also to be found in the portrait of _Odet_; and it
appears to have been Clouet's latest work. It exhibits very decidedly
his appreciation for Italian methods, more especially those affected by
Morone and Moretto of Brescia, to whose work these two large portraits
by François Clouet bear a marked analogy.
[Illustration: PLATE LXVI.
PIERRE QUTHE.
_Louvre._
François Clouet.]
Besides a fine drawing in red chalk of this same _Cardinal_, presented
to the Musée Condé by M. Moreau Nélaton, there exist two other drawings,
evidently preliminary sketches for the same picture. One of these is in
the British Museum (Salting Bequest) and the other in the Albertina at
Vienna. These form a further proof that the painting at Chantilly is by
François Clouet and not by Primaticcio.
Odet de Coligny, created a Cardinal by Clement VII at the early age of
seventeen, was the eldest brother of Admiral Coligny and of Dandelot. In
spite of the countless honours showered upon him by the Catholic party
he all at once in 1561 astonished the world by openly confessing the
Protestant Faith. Like his brothers he became a staunch supporter of
Calvin, proceeded publicly to marry Elizabeth de Hauteville--to whom he
had for many years previously been deeply attached--and presented her at
Court, where she received the title of Comtesse de Beauvais. The
scandalised Pope, Pius V, erased his name from the list of Cardinals,
whilst Catherine de Medicis merely smiled. It suited her purpose on the
death of Francis II to dismiss the Guises from her Court and to admit
thereto the Calvinistic party, even to the extent of attending their
sermons. This freak of hers did not, however, last long, but by it she
enticed the Protestants into her net. Odet de Coligny subsequently
retired to England, where in 1570, just when he was intending to return
to France, he died suddenly at Hampton Court, not without suspicion of
poison.
* * * * *
[Illustration: Plate LXVII.
Photo. Giraudon.
MARGOT OF FRANCE.
François Clouet.
Musée Condé.
_To face page 238._]
Before concluding this chapter on François Clouet attention should be
directed to a specially interesting feature about these drawings. Upon
the margins, and also on the reverse sides of most of them, are to be
found annotations and legends of the utmost historical and iconographic
value. Sometimes they appear to be in the handwriting of the artists
themselves: often notes with regard to subsequent reproduction in
colours; but more often they seem to be the remarks of the connoisseurs
and collectors who at different times possessed the drawing--such as was
Catherine de Medicis herself. Her handwriting is to be found upon at
least sixteen of the drawings in the Musée Condé, easily identified by
existing fragments of her letters in the archives at Chantilly and
elsewhere. There is, for example, a drawing of _Erasmus_ which had
hitherto passed unnoticed until Moreau Nélaton discovered that the Queen
had written his name upon it in her own hand. Her autograph is clear
enough also on the drawings which present her favourite
ladies-in-waiting Hegli[125] and _Montchenu_ and _la Romène_; whilst she
has also annotated the drawings representing _Monsieur de S. Valier_,
"_le père de la Grande Senechalle_," and "_Monsieur de Nevers_," "_le
père de Madame de Nevers_." Then upon a drawing of _Brissac_ (so
celebrated for his good looks) she notes "_brassac depuis maréchal_."
Again, "_le fu roy de Navarre, Henri_," "_Monsieur de Chateaubriand_,"
"_Monsieur de Voldemont_," and "_Chandu, capitaine de la porte du Roy_."
Besides the sixteen drawings at Chantilly which so obviously bear the
Queen's handwriting, there is as already mentioned in the Deligand
Collection a likeness of "_Brasseu_," daughter of Diane de Poitiers, and
in the Uffizi a drawing representing _Queen Claude_, "_mère du roi
Henri_," on both of which we also find Her Majesty's angular writing.
She has corrected, moreover, the title upon one pencil drawing wrongly
entitled _Madame de Nevers d'Albret_ into _Madame de Vendôme d'Alençon_.
Yet by far the larger number of the drawings bear notes in a variety of
different handwritings: at Chantilly, the Bibliothèque Nationale, in the
Uffizi and in the British Museum (Salting Bequest). M. Moreau Nélaton is
strongly of opinion that these notes were all made either by the Queen
herself or by secretaries written at her dictation. He is certainly
right in regard to one of these, for we can trace the same handwriting
in a private letter "_a ma cousine Madame la Connetable_" signed by the
Queen; and again on the margin of the three drawings representing
"_François Dauphin_," "_Marie Royne d'Ecosse_,"[126] and "_Charles
Maximilian d'Orleans_" respectively. It is a well-formed caligraphy
with a peculiar trick of abbreviating "_et_" into "_&_," which appears
both in the letter and in the notes. There is no proof, however, as to
who were the other annotators, whether Court secretaries or not. They
may just as well, as M. Dimier[127] suggests, be other collectors
through whose hands in the course of time the drawings have passed. This
much, however, is quite certain: that all are posterior to the drawings
themselves. The different handwritings--of which there are at least
four, if not five (including that of the Queen), have puzzled Bouchot as
much as Dimier and Moreau Nélaton, and all these authorities have their
own special theories upon the subject. It is evident that in most cases
the notes do identify the persons represented in the drawings upon which
they are found, and they are thus of greatest historical value: and more
especially is this the case with the drawings at Chantilly (many of
which are stained with blotches of colour), since they are the originals
from which were derived the copies and portraits found now in other
collections.
[Illustration: Plate LXVIII.
DIANE DE POITIERS.
François Clouet. About 1543.
Musée Condé.
_To face page 240._]
There is ample evidence to prove how much interest was taken by
Catherine de Medicis in French portrait-painting. A list has been found,
bearing the heading of "_Les peintures qu'il faut_," of the pictures
which she desired should be reproduced. Numerous "_gens de maîtres_"
like Philibert Delormes, Jean Bullant, Scipion Bruisbal, and others were
busily employed in making these copies from Clouet originals, in
order to satisfy the great demand which then existed for them.
After Catherine's death an _Inventory_ of not less than 476 paintings
(amongst which were 341 portraits) was made at the Palais de Tournelle,
where she habitually resided; whilst another _Inventory_ notes 39 small
pictures executed in enamel, and 32 portraits in colour, 1 foot square
each, of ladies and gentlemen of the Court.
An original drawing of _Diane de Poitiers_ is preserved in the
portfolios at Chantilly; and a portrait of the same lady executed in
colour hangs in the next room (Cabinet Clouet). Similarly the Bethune
and Destailleur albums at Chantilly, as well as the Ashmolean collection
at Oxford, contain numerous copies from originals in the Musée Condé.
Many of these copies were made by enamellers and goldsmiths for the
purposes of their respective trades. These, however, are usually of
inferior workmanship, although they have a certain value attached to
them; especially when, as in the case of _Mary Tudor_, the original has
been lost.
In this connection the Mejanés album at Aix should not be forgotten; for
it is no doubt the most important amongst the various albums which
contain copies of these original drawings at Chantilly and elsewhere.
This collection is supposed to have been copied by Madame de Berry, wife
of Arthur de Gouffier, one of the _Preux de Marignan_. Francis I, whose
own portrait is at the beginning of the album, when on a visit to this
lady, is said to have composed the remarks which are written on the
margins. They are suggestive and often witty; indeed none but the King
himself would have dared to fling at Mary Tudor[128] of England the
insulting words "_plus sale que royale_"; whilst Diane de Poitiers is
greeted with the flattering remark, "_fair to see and virtuous to
know_." Perhaps even more important especially, from an artistic point
of view, is the Hagford album bequeathed to the British Museum by Mr.
Salting, since it includes not only a number of old copies but also
several very valuable originals. This collection was made by an English
painter, Ignatius Hagford, who lived in Florence in the eighteenth
century. He believed them to be the work of Holbein, as is indicated by
the frontispiece; and he seems to have even bought also old copies of
originals which he already owned. Part of his collection is now in the
Pitti Palace; and seeing that the Howard Collection, now at Chantilly,
was also originally acquired in Florence, there is strong reason to
believe that probably these two collections were once united.
[Illustration: Plate LXIX.
MARY TUDOR, QUEEN OF FRANCE.
Copy after Perréal.
Photo. Giraudon.
MADAME DE BOUILLON.
Attributed to Jean Clouet.
Musée Condé.
_To face page 232._]
Henri de Mesmes, a gentleman of whom Brantôme speaks as "_un très grand
habile et subtil personnage d'état d'affaires de science et de toute
gentillesse_," often acted as go-between for Catherine in her art
dealings; and it was he who corresponded on her behalf with a certain
Claude de Hery, who had been commissioned to make a new engraving from a
portrait of _Charles IX_ on his accession to the throne. This artist
had failed to satisfy the Queen-Mother and the King, in spite of the
fact that his work had been fully approved of by no less a personage
than François Clouet himself.
One of the last works of François Clouet was a miniature of _Elizabeth
of Austria_, executed in 1572 and destined for her sister-in-law, the
Queen of Spain. The goldsmith Dugardin designed for it a golden frame;
and here also Henri de Mesmes acted as medium, as is shown by a
memorandum referring to it in the handwriting of Catherine de Medicis
herself.
It was in this same year (1572) that the artist died; a year which was
also fatal to Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, who did not live to
attend the nuptials of her son Henri IV with Margot de France. This took
place shortly after her demise and not long before the Massacre of St.
Bartholomew; a terrible event which reveals Catherine de Medicis in a
very different light from that of a connoisseur and collector of works
of art. There is a portrait of her in the Cabinet Clouet at Chantilly
which dates from about this period. From it the bloom of youth has fled,
the face has grown heavier and the smile is more than ever fixed and
conventional.
The ablest contemporary and follower of the Clouets was Corneille de
Lyon; but he in turn developed a decided individuality of his own. By
him are those small portraits, painted upon light-green or light-blue
backgrounds, which may be found scattered throughout the Galleries of
Europe. As already mentioned, a likeness of the _Dauphin François_[129]
at Chantilly (Tribune) has been attributed to him by Gaignières, to whom
it once belonged. It is on the authority of this connoisseur that other
portraits in the Musée Condé exhibiting the same style are by comparison
assigned to him: such, for instance, as _Le Grand Ecuyer de Boisy,
Marguerite de France_ (sister of Henri II), _Madame de Martigné Briant_,
a portrait supposed to be of _Madame de Canaples_, and a portrait of a
young woman, erroneously styled _Claude de Valois_. [An authentic
portrait of this latter lady, attributed to Clouet himself, is at
Munich.] _Madame d'Elboeuf_, presented to the Louvre by the late
Rudolph Kahn, is a fine example of Corneille's skill.
Another artist who followed the Clouet style was Jean de Court, Court
Painter to Henri III, the last of the Valois Kings, whose portrait in
the Cabinet Clouet at Chantilly is probably an example of his work. His
talent is much praised by Desportes; and this likeness of _Henri III_
does not suffer in comparison with the portraits of _Charles IX_
attributed to François Clouet. The pencil drawing of _Marie Touchet_,
Charles IX's mistress, in the Bibliothèque Nationale is also attributed
to him.
[Illustration: PLATE LXX.
FRANÇOIS, DAUPHIN.
_Photo Giraudon._
_Musée Condé._
Corneille de Lyon.]
The painter who acquired the old Queen's special favour after the death
of François Clouet was Carron, who made a series of designs
(reproduced in tapestry) from the _History of Artemisia_, in which
Catherine herself is represented mourning for Henri II in the guise of
the Queen of Caria. A drawing by Carron representing the _Duc
d'Alençon_, her youngest son, on horseback is in the passage of the
Tribune at Chantilly.
Pierre Gourdel, Dubois and Bussel, followers of François Clouet, are
only known to us by mediocre engravings, but numerous drawings by the
Brothers Lagneau have come down to us. These may be met with in the
Louvre, in the portfolios at Chantilly and elsewhere. They suffer from
an exaggerated taste for realism; and representations of old, wrinkled
men and women seem to have been their favourite themes. A good example
of their work is the portrait of an _Old Man_ at Dijon, where, however,
it is erroneously assigned to Daniel Dumoustier. This latter artist, on
the contrary (according to his own statement), took particular pleasure
in representing his sitters as younger and more beautiful than they
really were. By him there are at Chantilly portraits of _Louis XIII_ (in
coloured chalk), of _Albert de Gondi Archdeacon of Paris_, of _Henri Duc
de Guise_,[130] of the _Princess Palatine_ (the devoted friend of the
Grand Condé), and an interesting portrait of _Henriette de France_ in
her girlhood. Numerous other examples of his work are in the Louvre; and
he is certainly the most important of the artists who followed François
Clouet. In company with his sons Pierre and Nicolas he carried on the
art of pencil drawing in France from the sixteenth well into the
seventeenth century. Saint-Simon speaks of him as a man who was fond of
books and knew both Italian and Spanish. He lived in the Louvre, and
throughout his lifetime retained his hold upon public taste.
There is yet one more artist-family to be mentioned: that of the
Quesnels, who were held by the two first Bourbon Kings, Henri IV and
Louis XIII, in the same high estimation as were the Clouets by the
Valois. There are two portraits at Chantilly (Cabinet Clouet) which are
attributed to François Quesnel: that of the _Duc de Sully_ and of his
brother _Philippe de Bethune_. These paintings markedly display the
strong tendencies to realism so characteristic of the Brothers Quesnel.
[Illustration: Plate LXXI.
HENRI DE GUISE.
Dumoustier.
Musée Condé.
MARECHAL DE VIELVILLE.
François Clouet. (Salting Collection).
British Museum.
_To face page 246._]
Yet another French picture at Chantilly of the Clouet School has to be
recorded, the authorship of which is uncertain. It represents _Gabrielle
d'Estrées_, mistress of Henri IV, seated in her bath, with her infant
sons (one being on the arm of his nurse) beside her. It is a composition
which occurs frequently and seems to be rather meant for an allegory
than for a portrait. Other versions of it are in the Louvre, at Doughty
House Richmond, and in the Collections of Baron Pichon and the
Viscomtesse de Zanzé. In this last example one of Gabrielle's sisters is
also introduced. She turns her back to the spectator, whilst Gabrielle
herself--her bare neck adorned with a string of fine pearls--faces
full round. At the Musée Condé (Cabinet des Gemmes) there is a
miniature representing _Gabrielle d'Estrées and her two Children_, which
bears unmistakable likeness to this portrait. The late M. Gruyer in his
_Catalogue Raisonnée_ of the Musée Condé justly points out that this
composition testifies to the decadent turn taken by the late
sixteenth-century French School; and we sadly miss the good taste and
the refinement which are such marked qualities in the portraiture of
François Clouet.