 |
| Corneille de Lyon Portrait of a man ca. 1545-50 National Gallery, London |
 |
| Corneille de Lyon Portrait of a man holding a glove ca. 1550 National Gallery, London |
 |
| Corneille de Lyon Portrait of a man wearing a biretta mid-16th century National Gallery, London |
"The documents prove that he [Corneille de Lyon] was of Dutch origin and was born in The Hague, that he was painter to the Dauphin, later Henry II, from 1540 onwards, and that he was naturalized French in1547. In 1551 the Venetian ambassador, Giovanni Capelli, describes a visit to his studio, where he saw little portraits of all the members of the French Court. After the death of Henry II he continued in favour with his successors. He abjured Protestantism and joined the Roman Church in 1569, and the last record of him dates from 1574."
Corneille de Lyon's portraits are "characterized by their small size, their sensitive naturalistic modelling in a northern manner, and usually by a green background. We have no evidence of the artist's early training, but there is nothing in Dutch portraiture at the time to suggest that he learnt his art in his own country. Closer links can perhaps be seen with Antwerp, more precisely with Joos van Cleve, whose portraits, though larger in scale, have very much the same modelling in thin glazes which give variety of light and texture to the features rather than plasticity."
– Anthony Blunt, Art and Architecture in France 1500-1700, 5th edition revised by Richard Beresford (Yale University Press, 1999)
 |
| François de Montmorency Portrait of Corneille de Lyon ca.. 1557 Clark Art Institute |
 |
| Lucas Cranach the Elder Samson & Delilah ca. 1528-30 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| Juan de Juanes Knight of the Order of Santiago ca. 1560 Prado |
 |
| Juan de Juanes Ecce Homo ca. 1570 Prado |
 |
| Anonymous Italian painter Personification of the Theological Virtue of Hope ca. 1500 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| Anonymous Italian painter Personification of the Theological Virtue of Faith ca. 1500 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| Giovanni Pietro Rizzoli (Giampetrino) Diana the Huntress ca. 1530-50 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Curators at the Met describe Giampietrino (above) as, "among the most faithful Milanese pupils of Leonardo da Vinci. This picture, which shows the goddess of the hunt drawing an arrow, is inspired by one of a famous set of engravings designed by the Florentine Rosso Fiorentino (1484-1540) and dated 1526."
 |
| Francesco d'Ubertino Verdi (Bachiacca) Leda & the Swan 16th century Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| Adriaen Key Portrait of the Thomasz Family 1583 Prado |
Curators at the Prado tell us that Adriaen Key's portrait (above) records the features of a prosperous Flemish father and his six children, crowding the picture-space as if to express the intimate proximity of family life. The wife and mother's death is suggested both by her absence and by the vanitas arrangement that apparently stands as her proxy at lower right.
 |
| Giambologna Allegory of Francesco I de'Medici 1560-61 alabaster relief Prado |
 |
| Anonymous Italian artist working in Verona Triumph of Titus early 16th century drawing British Museum |