FRANÇOIS CLOUET (TOURS AVANT 1522-1572 PARIS) ET ATELIER - photo 1
FRANÇOIS CLOUET (TOURS AVANT 1522-1572 PARIS) ET ATELIER - photo 2
FRANÇOIS CLOUET (TOURS AVANT 1522-1572 PARIS) ET ATELIER - photo 3

FRANÇOIS CLOUET (TOURS AVANT 1522-1572 PARIS) ET ATELIER

Lot 20
15.06.2023 15:00UTC +01:00
Classic
Sold
€ 151 200
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationFrance, Paris
Archive
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Archive
ID 975001
Lot 20 | FRANÇOIS CLOUET (TOURS AVANT 1522-1572 PARIS) ET ATELIER
Estimate value
€ 60 000 – 100 000
FRANÇOIS CLOUET (TOURS AVANT 1522-1572 PARIS) ET ATELIER

Portrait en buste de François Hercule de France, duc d’Alençon puis d’Anjou, vers 1561

porte une inscription 'FRANCOIS. II.' (en haut, à droite)

huile sur panneau

31,2 x 23,2 cm. (12 1/4 x 9 1/8 in.)





Provenance

Collection Eynard, Genève (selon le catalogue d'exposition de 1932, op. cit. infra).

Sarrasin von der Mühl, Bâle, dès 1928 (selon les catalogues d'exposition de 1928 et 1932, op. cit. infra).

Vente anonyme, espace Tajan, Paris, 13 décembre 2005, lot 32 (comme 'attribué à François Clouet') (l'inscription 'FRANCOIS. II.' était alors probablement occultée par une précédente campagne de restauration).

Collection particulière de la région Grand Est, France.



Literature

W. R., 'Ausstellung aus Basler Privatbesitz', Der Cicerone: Halbmonatsschrift für die Interessen des Kunstforschers & Sammler, juin 1928, 20, p. 380 (comme 'François (gen. Janet) Clouet'), reproduit en noir et blanc p. 379.



Exhibited

Bâle, Kunstverein Basel, Ausstellung von Kunstwerken des 15. bis 18. Jahrhunderts aus Basler Privatbesitz, 15 avril-28 mai 1928, n°92 (comme 'François Clouet').

Londres, Royal Academy of Arts, Exhibition of French Art 1200-1900, 4 janvier-5 mars 1932, n°82 (comme 'Clouet, François, called Janet').



Post lot text

FRANÇOIS CLOUET AND WORKSHOP, BUST-LENGTH PORTRAIT OF FRANÇOIS HERCULE OF FRANCE, DUKE OF ALENÇON AND LATER OF ANJOU, CIRCA 1561, BEARS AN INSCRIPTION, OIL ON PANEL

The tragic death of Henry II (1519-1159) in a tournament in 1559, followed closely by the equally premature death of Francis II (1544-1560) on 5 December 1560, forced Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) to precipitate the entry of her youngest children into the world. At the age of ten and a half, Charles-Maximilian (1550-1574) was crowned as Charles IX. On 11 December, he was received into the Order of St Michael at the same time as his younger brother and heir, Alexander Edward (1551-1589), who became Henry at his confirmation in Toulouse in 1565 and later reigned as Henry III. Although he had to wait until 1566 to be admitted to the Order, Hercule (1555-1584), Catherine de Medici's youngest child, who was not yet six years old, did not escape this early public attention. Instead of enjoying his childhood away from the court, at the château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye or in Blois, he was obliged to appear with his mother and brothers, to attend ceremonies and to learn the art of governing. In 1565 in Toulouse, he was given the name François in memory of his grandfather, François I (1494-1547), and his brother François II, but he was never to reign despite all attempts to find a crown. He was Duke of Alençon, then of Anjou and finally of Brabant and Château-Thierry, and died in 1584 without issue after a tumultuous and rebellious life.

In 1561, he was still a small boy when he posed for François Clouet (before 1522-1572), the official painter of the Valois, who was commissioned by Catherine to paint portraits of the entire royal family. Although this is not his first portrait, the image is here imbued with formal dignity and solemnity. The duke appears much more mature than in the drawing by Jean Decourt (ca. 1530-1584) in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which dates from the same period, judging from the winter garb worn by the child, the same as that worn by Charles IX and the future Henry III in their images created by Clouet in 1561. Dressed in black velvet, his collar trimmed with gold and his hat adorned with jewels, the child stares at the viewer with a sharp, confident gaze.

Clouet's original drawing has not been located, but there is a replica in the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France with the braiding traced in red chalk. In order to spread the image throughout the kingdom and to foreign courts, the portraitist had to produce several paintings of the prince. In addition to the present version, two other paintings are known: the one in the Royal Collection (inv. no. RCIN 403434), which is probably entirely autograph, and the one recently sold at Christie's in London (anonymous sale, 7 December 2017, lot 11), which is slightly inferior in workmanship and less accurate. Both panels are dated 1561 and show the hands characteristic of Clouet's child portraiture. Here, the hands are missing and the date has probably been lost in the reworking of the background. The erroneous annotation identifying the young boy as Francis II probably dates from the same period. This appears to be a common misconception: the Royal Collection portrait was long identified as depicting the king rather than his brother, and an awkward later copy on a green background sold at Millon in Paris on 23 March 2007 (lot 12) was also annotated "François II".

In the present variant, the hand of the master can be seen in the face and hair, which recreates the original drawing to perfection, modelling the flesh with great subtlety. The execution of the clothing, on the other hand, appears to have been executed by his workshop.

We would like to thank Dr. Alexandra Zvereva for writing this note.
Artist:François Clouet (1515 - 1572)
Applied technique:Oil on panel
Art style:Old Masters
Genre:Portrait
Place of origin:Western Europe, France, Europe
Auction house category:Paintings
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