Jacqueline de Rohan

Corneille de Lyon's portrait of Jacqueline de Rohan from 1550 depicts a noblewoman from one of the great dynasties of Brittany, whose family had long maintained quasi-royal independence before the duchy's integration into France. The Rohans were among the most powerful families in western France, and their portraits by Corneille—who by 1550 had been official royal portraitist for many years—represent the intersection of French regional aristocratic culture with the centralizing court at Lyon and Paris. The work demonstrates Corneille's mature command of his characteristic format, the green background giving way to the precise observation of a specific face and the costly fabrics that signal the sitter's rank.

The delicate portrait captures the noblewoman's features with Corneille's characteristic refinement, the colored ground creating a distinctive atmospheric backdrop.