1556, Limoges

1556, Limoges

Identifier
49.7.108
Transfer of custody
Victoria and Albert Museum
Acquisition
The Jules Bache Collection, 1949
Collection
Technique
Depiction
Dimension
19.1 cm (height)
14.3 cm (width)
Production time
Production place

Description

Léonard Limosin was the greatest enamel painter working in the style of the School of Fontainebleau, Italian Mannerists and French artists active at the French court from about 1530 to 1570. Limosin's enameled portraits are numerous, and he has been ranked, along with Jean Clouet (1486–1540) and Corneille de Lyon (before 1500–1574), as the best portrait painter of Renaissance France. This plaque, one of at least six based on a drawing attributed to Limosin (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris), portrays the brother-in-law of the French king, François I (1497–1547), who ruled the independent kingdom of Navarre from 1518 until 1555.