Portrait of Charlotte of France

Jean Clouet painted this Portrait of Charlotte of France around 1522, depicting the young daughter of Francis I and Claude of France at a tender age. The child portrait was a relatively new genre in the Renaissance, children previously having been depicted primarily as angels or Christ children rather than as specific individuals worthy of commemoration. Charlotte, born in 1516, died young in 1524, and this portrait—showing her probably around ages five or six—may have been made in anticipation of her premature death or as a commemoration of her brief life. Clouet's delicate depiction of the child's features and dress demonstrates his ability to adapt his court portrait style to a very different subject, the royal child's vulnerability and innocence creating a poignant contrast with the formal magnificence of adult royal portraiture.

The panel demonstrates the artistic techniques characteristic of early sixteenth-century painting, with the careful rendering and color harmonies typical of the period's production.