King Louis XI, King of France (1423-1483)
French School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1500 - 1599
Materials
Oil on panel
Measurements
229 x 178 mm (9 x 7 in)
Place of origin
France
Order this imageCollection
Blickling Hall, Norfolk
NT 355511
Caption
The French King is here shown wearing the chain and order of St. Michael, which he founded in 1469. The picture was bought by the 3rd Earl of Lothian in 1649, along with a portrait of ‘Petrarch’, as its pair. Both pictures were ascribed to Corneille de Lyon, but it seems that they were not even made in the same country, and are certainly not a pair. This picture was perhaps made by a follower of Corneille de Lyon, or possibly by an artist from the Low Countries, making a deliberate historicising pastiche, perhaps to sell as a pendant to the ‘Petrarch’. Moreover, this picture is on an oak panel, and the ‘Petrarch’ is on poplar.
Summary
Oil painting on panel, King Louis XI, King of France (1423-1483), French School, 16th century. A head-and-shoulders portrait, profile to right, in brown fur hat over a red cap with ear flaps, a red robe with white collar with shell and bead ornament, being the chain and order of St Michael (founded by the King in 1469).
Provenance
Acquired by William Kerr, 3rd Earl of Lothian (1605-1675) in 1649 as by Corneille; bequeathed with the hall and contents by Philip,11th Marquess of Lothian (1882-1940)
Credit line
Blickling Hall, The Lothian Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: Labels on back of frame and panel 'Loan - Newbattle R.N., National Gallery of Scotland', 'Blickling Hall'. Verso: Pencil mark on back of panel 'No.20'. Inscribed in orange l.l. '289', and in white above '289'.
Makers and roles
French School, artist previously catalogued as attributed to Corneille de Lyon (The Hague 1500/10 – Lyon 1575), artist