Jean Clouet. Jean Clouet was a miniaturist and painter who worked in France during the High Renaissance.
His Portrait of Francis I is one of Clouet's most famous works. It shows Francis in three-quarter view, wearing a black cap and a fur-trimmed robe.
The portrait is notable for its lifelike quality and its attention to detail, particularly in the rendering of the king's facial features and expression. His portrait of Pierre Sala, a French courtier and writer who served as secretary to Francis, is notable for its lifelike quality and its attention to detail, particularly in the rendering of Sala's facial features and expression.
He was the father of François Clouet. The authentic presence of this artist at the French court is first mentioned in 1516, the second year of the reign of Francis I. By a deed of gift made by the king to the artist's son of his father's estate, which had escheated to the crown, we learn that he was not actually a Frenchman, and never naturalized.
He is supposed to have been a native of the Low Countries, and probably his real name was Cloet. He lived several years in Tours, and there it was he met his wife, who was the daughter of a jeweller. He is recorded as living in Tours in 1522, and there is a reference to his wife's residence in the same town in 1523. In that year Clouet was awarded the position of Groom of the Chamber by the King, with a stipend at first o