Provenance:
Collection Paul-Louis Weiller ; Private collection
All the elegance of Corneille de Lyon’s art is brought together in this sober and refined painting of a gentleman with a red...
read moreProvenance:
Collection Paul-Louis Weiller ; Private collection
All the elegance of Corneille de Lyon’s art is brought together in this sober and refined painting of a gentleman with a red beard against a green background. Contrary to the real court portraits, where Corneille likes to celebrate the dignity of his models through his meticulous rendering of their clothing and their social attributes, the painter’s attention in this instance focuses more on the detailed observation of the young man’s physiognomy and psychological characterisation.
This portrait of a young man with a red beard fully complies with the artistic conventions of the Renaissance: a three-quarter head-and-shoulders view, with the figure gazing out at the viewer. Furthermore, the character’s high rank is emphasised by his refined clothing – a magnificent black doublet with silver soutache braid. However, it is clear that the artist’s interest lies in his model’s countenance. Corneille de Lyon depicts the young man’s face with great care, showing the subtle variations of the skin’s complexion and meticulously defining each hair of his beard and head. He stands out against a neutral, two-dimensional green background, which creates an aura of simplicity and sincerity, accentuating the face’s expressiveness and the model’s personality. This muted green contrasts with his rosy complexion, further heightening the delicate tint of his cheeks.
Added to this is the painter’s talent for infusing his model with a complex psychology. Through his enigmatic gaze, the young man seems to express a certain reserve with regard to the viewer, giving him a certain fragility. Corneille de Lyon’s art bears witness to a keen focus on detail that aims to reach beyond a simple portrayal of the character’s status in an effort to give his subject a truly natural feel. In fact, the subtle elegance of the effigy serves to underline the painter’s virtuosity at rendering the textures of the clothing, the skin, the hairs of the beard and all the pictorial refinement that constitutes the quintessence of Corneille de Lyon's art.
circa 1500 The Hague - Lyon circa 1574
Corneille of Lyon or of the The Hague, owing to his Dutch origins, apparently came to work in Paris, before settling in Lyon, where his presence was recorded...
read morecirca 1500 The Hague - Lyon circa 1574
Corneille of Lyon or of the The Hague, owing to his Dutch origins, apparently came to work in Paris, before settling in Lyon, where his presence was recorded as from 1533, as a portrait painter in the service of Queen Eleanor and then the Dauphin Henri II. He obtained French nationality in 1547 and was mentioned as the painter and valet of King Henri II in 1551 and then of Charles IX. According Brantôme, Catherine di Medici came to visit Corneille in June 1564.
A whole series of small half-bust portraits are attributed to him, representing the glamorous court of the Valois, with a smooth, precise workmanship, devoid of material and worked with glaze. His highly personal style focuses on finely featured faces, seen from a slight angle or head-on, and modeled without any shading. The importance bestowed on the head sometimes accounts for a slight disproportion with the torso. His effigies are characterized by their grace and elegance, aristocratic grace, as well as an overall realism and sharp sense of observation for costume, embroidery, head-gear and detailed jewelry “à la flamande“.
Following in the same tracks as the Clouets, who had arrived from Brussels, he thus introduced Flemish workmanship and temperament to France. In exulting the native qualities associated with the tradition of the Parisian miniature portrait, Corneille de Lyon created and defined a Franco-Flemish genre that was able to meet an ever-growing and enthusiastic requirement of the court collectors who made his fame.
