(Tours before 1522–1572 Paris)
Portrait of Elisabeth of Valois (1545–1568), Queen of Spain, bust-length, in a crimson velvet dress embroidered with gold and silver,
oil on panel, 35 x 23 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

The sitter of the present portrait is Elisabeth of Valois, the eldest daughter of Henry II of France and Caterina de Medici. The French princess was celebrated at European courts for her intelligence, beauty and mildness of character. In 1559, at the age of 14, Elisabeth married the Spanish King Philip II (1527–1598) by proxy, becoming his third wife, after the death of his first and second wives, Maria Manuela of Portugal and Mary I of England. The Spanish people euphorically welcomed the new queen as Isabel de la Paz, as she sealed the long hoped for peace between France and Spain.

Around the time of her marriage, François Clouet portrayed the young bride in a work now in the Toledo Museum of Art (inv. no. 1929.140, dated circa 1559), dressed in a Spanish-style black velvet costume with silver sleeves and a headdress set with pearls and precious stones. The present painting might also have been executed around this time and is related to her portrait by Antonis Mor, as well as another by Alonso Sánchez Coello, both dated to circa 1560 and conserved in the Váres Fisa Collection, Madrid. Elisabeth wears one of her most magnificent dresses, valued at 50,000 maravedis in an inventory made after her death – which equals 25,665 Spanish gold ducats – consisting of a white and gold high bodice under a crimson velvet dress with silver and gold embroidery, embellished with cut-outs. The rigid style with the stiff ruff and the closed dress, which covers the entire neck, corresponds to mid-16th century French fashion.

François Clouet was son of the painter and draughtsman Jean Clouet and trained in his father’s workshop, succeeding him after his death in 1540 in the position of painter and valet de chambre at the Valois court. Over his long career he worked for François I, Henri II, François II and Charles IX. Clouet was celebrated by poets and men of letters, including Pierre de Ronsard. In his work Le Fort inexpugnable de l’honneur du sexe féminin, dedicated to Catherine de’ Medici and published in 1555, François de Billon even compared him to Michelangelo, evidence of the great success the artist enjoyed among his contemporaries. As a portrait painter Clouet was able to render the expression of his sitters in combination with an almost dry precision, elegant stylisation and plasticity of form.

As the head of a large workshop, Clouet was responsible for the production of miniatures, enamels, easel paintings, prints and medals, as well as theatre sets and ephemeral decoration for ceremonies. Some of his collaborators, active between 1550 and 1575, are known from documents and included François Brimbal, Laurent Dujardin, Guyon Ledoulx and Jean and Jacques Patin.