Francois Clouet

Background

François Clouet was born in 1510 in Tours, France as the son of the court painter Jean Clouet. Jean Clouet was a native of the Southern Netherlands and probably from the Brussels area. François Clouet studied under his father. He inherited his father's nickname 'Janet' and is referred to as such in some early sources and the older literature.

Education

François Clouet studied under his father. The younger Clouet is said to have followed his father very closely in his art. Like his father, he held the office of groom of the chamber and painter in ordinary to the king, and so far as salary is concerned, he started where his father left off.

Career

In 1540 François Clouet replaced his father as official painter to the court of François I. After the king’s death Clouet continued to work for the royal house of Valois, primarily executing portraits and portrait drawings. His drawings were greatly appreciated by Catherine de’Medici who assembled images of this type in albums.

Portraits from this period include those of Henri II, Catherine de’Medici and François I.

His portraits generally reflect the formal nature of court images. Clouet’s most famous composition, Diana in the Bath probably depicts Diana of Poitiers, lover of Henri II, or Marie Touchet, lover of Charles IX. In this painting Clouet achieved a highly original combination of courtly elements with other, more realistic ones.

Clouet was not only a portraitist but also painted allegorical landscapes such as The Bath of Diana.

At the end of his life in 1572 he was commissioned by the Valois to execute a major decorative project for the wedding between Margaret of Valois and Enrique of Navarre. Clouet was assisted by two of his pupils, Jean Decourt and Pierre Gourdelle.

Achievements

• Francois Clouet worked at the court of king Francis I, Henry II, Francis II and Charles IX.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • La Nourrice, dite Femme allaitant un nouveau-né Alexandre de Vendôme, fils de Gabrielle dEstrées et dHenri IV
  • Portrait of Charles IX 1550-1574, King of France
  • AMME, EIN NEUGEBORENES ALEXANDRE DE VENDÔME NÄHREND
  • Portrait of Hercule-François

Connections

François Clouet was the son of Jean Clouet. His father was court portraitist and was almost certainly François' first teacher. The elder Clouet was often cited in the diminutive as "Jehannet" or "Janet," and François used this latter term on his two signed paintings.

He also had two illegitimate daughters who became nuns.

Father:

Jean Clouet

Sister:

Catherine Clouet

References

• Great Russian Encyclopedia
• Correspondance Diplomatique De Bertrand De Salignac De La Mothe Fenelon
• François Clouet | French painter | Britannica François Clouet, French painter who immortalized in his portraits the society of the court of the royal house of Valois. The son of Jean Clouet, he was known also under his father’s byname, Janet, a circumstance that created a persistent confusion between the works of these two painters.