Portrait of Odet de Coligny, Cardinal of Châtillon

Localisation : The Rotunda / The Gallery of Painting
Année de création :Circa 1548
Artiste :François Clouet

Description

Here, François Clouet depicts the Cardinal of Châtillon using a formula different to that of his drawings: the model is portrayed from the waist up, standing in front of a drape, lavishly dressed, holding his glove in his right hand. The formula evokes those practised by Titian or Bronzino. However, it is to Clouet and not Primatice, as indicated in the inscription, that this portrait must be attributed, by analogy with another painted portrait and another drawn portrait. The textures of his ermine stole, his beard, and the opulent scarlet garment are painted with flawless precision, which further adds to the model’s splendour. It is thanks to constable Anne de Montmorency, his uncle, that Odet de Coligny received his cardinal’s hat in 1533, at the age of sixteen. He gradually opened up to the ideas of the Reform and defended protestants at court. He converted, was threatened by Catholics and excommunicated in 1563. He found refuge in England, where he died, perhaps from poisoning, without having managed to join his brother Gaspard de Coligny, whose murder marked the start of the Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre.