264. Jean Fouquet (c. 1415–1481), French,

Portrait of Charles VII, King of France,

c. 1445 or c. 1450. Oil on oak panel,

85 x 70 cm. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

 

 

The particularity of this painting is due to its squared shape, nearly full-scale, exceptional at the time. The frontal representation is characteristic of the official portraits of monarchs in the West. The two white curtains stand as symbols of majesty. From the years 1420 to 1430 the upper-body intimate portrait was a new fashion spread by Flemish masters. Here Fouquet carries out a synthesis between the traditional full-length representation and the upper-body representation. He enlarges the king’s stature, exploiting the fashion of padded shoulders. This work was painted in a precise political context: at the time, the victories of French royalty were being celebrated. This portrait will have a great influence on Jean Clouet and Holbein, who both travelled through the city of Bourges.

 

 

Jean Fouquet

(1420 Tours - 1481 Tours)

 

Painter and illuminator, Jean Fouquet is considered as one of the most important French painters of the fifteenth century. Little is known of his life, but it is almost certain that he created the portrait of the pope Eugene IV in Italy. When he returned to France, he introduced elements from the Italian Renaissance into French painting. He was the official painter to the court of the king, Louis XI. Whether it is in his miniatures that elaborate even the smallest detail or in his large formatted paintings on wood panel, the art of Fouquet always possesses monumental character. His subjects articulate themselves on large surfaces defined lines of brilliant purity.