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This unusually vivid portrait was painted in 1579. The style and technique is similar to that used in French portraiture of the late seventeenth century. The wood used for the panel, walnut, also suggests a French origin. However, the portrait has been in a Scottish private collection, and it may be that the sitter is Scottish. There were close political and artistic links between Scotland and France in the sixteenth century during the ‘Auld Alliance’ against England, and a number of French artists practiced in Edinburgh, among them the Quesnels. The close attention to detail in the face, twinned with the somewhat naive approach to the costume, is a hallmark of Francois Quesnel. He was born in Edinburgh, where his father, Pierre, worked for James V and Mary of Guise.
Technical Expertise
Prof. Dr. Peter Klein, Dendrochronological Analysis Report, 16 January 2011
This unusually vivid portrait was painted in 1579. The style and technique is similar to that used in French portraiture of the late seventeenth century. The wood used for the panel, walnut, also suggests a French origin. However, the portrait has been in a Scottish private collection, and it may be that the sitter is Scottish. There were close political and artistic links between Scotland and France in the sixteenth century during the ‘Auld Alliance’ against England, and a number of French artists practiced in Edinburgh, among them the Quesnels. The close attention to detail in the face, twinned with the somewhat naive approach to the costume, is a hallmark of Francois Quesnel. He was born in Edinburgh, where his father, Pierre, worked for James V and Mary of Guise.
Technical Expertise
Prof. Dr. Peter Klein, Dendrochronological Analysis Report, 16 January 2011
