Attributed to Attributed to Pierre Dumonstier
approximately 1545-1625
Portrait of Catherine de Medici, Queen of France, later Queen Mother (1519-1589)
ca. 1580
13 3/8 x 9 1/2 inches (339 x 240 mm)
Black chalk, with red and yellow chalk, some stumping, on paper.
III, 65c
Purchased by J.Pierpont Morgan in 1907.
Notes
Watermark: none visible through lining; on secondary support, a shield with a fleur-de-lis.
Formerly attributed to François Clouet, Tours before 1522-1572 Paris.
Clouet's original portrait of Catherine de Medici in mourning after the death of her husband Henri II in 1559, now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, became the official portrait of the Queen Mother and inspired many subsequent versions and copies. The present sheet is one such later copy that perpetuated the image of Catherine. Alexandra Zvereva has suggested a tentative attribution of the sheet to Pierre Dumoustier the Elder (ca. 1545-1625), a skilled portraitist who was Peintre et valet du chamber to the Queen Mother in 1586. A version by Dumonstier based on Clouet's original is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF Est., Na 22 rés., boîte 4, no. 9). Morgan purchased this sheet and another attributed to Clouet (III, 65a) in 1907, before his acquisition of the Fairfax Murray collection of drawings in 1909.
Formerly attributed to François Clouet, Tours before 1522-1572 Paris.
Clouet's original portrait of Catherine de Medici in mourning after the death of her husband Henri II in 1559, now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, became the official portrait of the Queen Mother and inspired many subsequent versions and copies. The present sheet is one such later copy that perpetuated the image of Catherine. Alexandra Zvereva has suggested a tentative attribution of the sheet to Pierre Dumoustier the Elder (ca. 1545-1625), a skilled portraitist who was Peintre et valet du chamber to the Queen Mother in 1586. A version by Dumonstier based on Clouet's original is in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF Est., Na 22 rés., boîte 4, no. 9). Morgan purchased this sheet and another attributed to Clouet (III, 65a) in 1907, before his acquisition of the Fairfax Murray collection of drawings in 1909.
Inscriptions/Markings
Inscribed in graphite at upper right, "Catherine/de medicis/t4 1.3"
Associated names
Clouet, François, -1572, After.
Currie, Philip, Sir, 1834-1906, former owner.
Harvey, Francis, former owner.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, former owner.
Currie, Philip, Sir, 1834-1906, former owner.
Harvey, Francis, former owner.
Morgan, J. Pierpont (John Pierpont), 1837-1913, former owner.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Catalog link
Department