Jean de Bourbon-Vendôme

This portrait of Jean de Bourbon-Vendôme, painted around 1550, depicts a member of the Bourbon dynasty that would eventually ascend to the French throne with Henry IV in 1589. Corneille de Lyon's portraits of the Bourbon family and their allies constitute an important visual record of the political networks that shaped mid-sixteenth-century France. Characteristic of Lyon's approach, the work displays small-scale portraits on wood or parchment, blue-green or red grounds, intimate psychological likeness.

The small-scale bust portrait captures the sitter with Corneille's characteristic precision against a plain background. Fine brushwork defines the features and costume with miniaturist attention to detail while maintaining an overall sense of naturalistic presence.