Portrait of Marguerite d'Angoulême (1492-1549)

Jean Clouet's Portrait of Marguerite d'Angoulême captures one of the most intellectually significant women of the French Renaissance, sister of King François I and author of the Heptaméron. Marguerite was a patron of humanists and religious reformers, a poet herself, and a political figure who used her influence to protect figures associated with Christian humanism from persecution. Clouet's portrait, as part of his systematic documentation of the French royal family and their circle, preserves the authoritative intellectual presence of a woman who shaped the cultural direction of the French court as much as any single minister.

Clouet's refined portraiture captures the princess's features with the subtle modeling and precise draftsmanship that defined French court style. The restrained elegance reflects both the sitter's intellectual dignity and the painter's refined technique.