Jean Clouet

Jean Clouet was the court portraitist of King Francis I of France. His portraits are quiet and precise, and his chalk drawings, in black and red chalk, capture faces with great economy. Around 130 of these drawings survive at the Musée Condé in Chantilly.

He was born around 1485 in the Netherlands, probably in Valenciennes or Brussels, and trained in Flanders before coming to France. From 1516 he served Francis I, first as painter and valet of the wardrobe, and by 1527 he was the highest-paid painter at court and almost the only one making portraits of the royal family. Only ten to fifteen paintings are attributed to him. His portrait of the scholar Guillaume Budé is in the Metropolitan Museum, and his Francis I as Saint John the Baptist is in the Louvre. His son François continued his work. He died in Paris around 1540 or 1541.

In Guillaume Budé, look at the calm, thoughtful face, drawn with his usual restraint.