around 1455 -1530 · Lyon, Paris and Cours de France

Precise faces, small formats and court versatility place Jean Perréal at the crossroads between Flemish realism and the French Renaissance.

Jean Perréal, often called Jean de Paris, was born around 1455 and became one of the most versatile artists at the French court around 1500. Painter, designer, architect, organizer of ceremonies and designer of monuments, he worked notably in Lyon, a city of passage between the Kingdom of France and Italy. His activity is documented with Charles VIII, Louis XII, Anne of Brittany and François I. Italian trips linked to the royal campaigns allowed him to observe new monumental forms, while his art of portraiture remained deeply attentive to Flemish precision. Perréal does not seek to multiply accessories. The face, headgear, neckline of clothing and the sober background are enough to identify the model and establish its status. In the Portrait of a Man, sometimes proposed like that of Pierre Marin de La Chesnaise, the profile or the light three-quarter view, the line of the nose and the concentration of the gaze give an immediate presence. The question mark attached to identity reminds us that many old portraits have lost the name of their model and that the attribution itself is often based on stylistic connections. The Portrait of a Woman follows a comparable economy: headdress, dark clothing and luminous complexion frame a face observed without emphasis. These small effigies belong to a world where portraits serve family memory, diplomacy and political representation. Perréal's activity goes far beyond preserved panels. He designs medals, royal entrances, tombs, ephemeral decorations and drawings intended for other artisans. The tomb of François II of Brittany, executed by Michel Colombe, is traditionally associated with his designs. He is also interested in poetry and the relationships between color, material and nature. He is also interested in poetry and the relationships between color, material and nature. This diversity explains why his visible work is rarer than his documentary influence: many of his creations were temporary, collective or made by workshops based on his models. Died around 1530, Perréal embodies thus a new type of court artist, capable of moving from the miniature face to ceremonial architecture while maintaining the same clarity of drawing. The "Jean Perreal" selection notably compares Portrait of a Man, Pierre Marin de La Chesnaise? and Portrait of a Woman. His reading favors the story.

Perréal reduces the portrait to the essential: a face, a headdress and a clothing line are enough to unite personal memory and court function.