Francois Clouet

François Clouet, also known as François Janet, was born in Tours in 1510 and died in Paris on September 22, 1572. He was a French painter.
Clouet’s father, the Dutch painter Jean Clouet, first settled in Tours and later in Paris. Because of his first name Jean, he was also known as Janet (actually Jehannet). This use of his name led to confusion, as his son also occasionally bore the surname Janet.
In 1541, François Clouet was granted French citizenship and served as court painter to Kings Francis I, Henry II and Charles IX.
Clouet’s paintings clearly show the influence of his Dutch origins. They are finely worked, often in a predominant silver-grey tone that makes the modeling of the flesh appear somewhat flat. Compared to Holbein, to whom some of his works have been wrongly attributed, he does not reach the same level. Clouet is attributed to the Second School of Fontainebleau.
One of his most important works is the life-size portrait of Charles IX in the Belvedere in Vienna. The Louvre in Paris also houses portraits of Charles IX and Elisabeth of Austria. A collection of 88 portraits of members of the French court, drawn in black and red chalk, can be found in Howard Castle.
A well-known work by Clouet is the painting “Lady in the Bath”, which was originally identified as a depiction of Diane de Poitiers, but probably resembles Marie Touchet, the mistress of Charles IX. Numerous drawings, mainly in the Musée Condé, are also attributed to him.