François Quesnel (c. 1543–1619) was a French painter of Scottish extraction.

Biography

The son of the French painter

Pierre Quesnel Pierre Quesnel () was a 16th-century French artist who worked in Scotland. Pierre worked in Scotland for Mary of Guise and James V. He is listed as an Usher in Guise's household and is identified as the "queen's painter" in the Scottish ''Treas ...

and his Scottish wife Madeleine Digby, born in Edinburgh while his father worked for

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. Sh ...

, Quesnel found patronage at the French court of Catherine de Medici and her son, Henri III (''illustration''). He married Charlotte Richandeau, with whom he had four children. A widower, he remarried in 1584 Marguerite Le Masson, who gave him ten more children, among whom were Nicolas (died 1632) and Augustin, painters, and Jacques, bookseller. In le Paris he worked as a decorator and a designer of

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

s for

tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...

, but it is as a portrait painter, both in oils and in delicately tinted pencil or red and black chalk, that he is chiefly remembered. Some portraits were engraved by Thomas de Leu and

Michel Lasne Michel Lasne (Caen, ca. 1590–4 December 1667, Paris), was a French engraving, engraver, draughtsman and collector. Lasne was born in Caen and was the son of a goldsmith. He was a member of the Guild of Saint Luke in Antwerp for 1617–18, and p ...

, and in 1609 he drew a map of Paris for engraving by Pierre Vallet. He died in le

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Tapestry designs

In 1585 François provided a cartoon for a tapestry of ''Christ preaching on the steps of the Temple'' for the Church of Saint Madeleine in Paris. In August 1586, François contracted to provide designs for tapestries of the ''Life of the Virgin'' for Renée of Guise Lorraine, Abbess of the Convent of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames at

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

and sister of his father's employer in Scotland, Mary of Guise (who was buried in the Convent). The eight tapestries and his cartoons were to be 1.5 ells in height, and 10.25 ells in length. Each was to include the heraldry of the Abbess in the centre. The cost of this design work was 5 ecu sols per Paris ell. These tapestries following his designs were woven in Paris.

Gallery

File:Quesnel Portrait einer Dame.jpg, ''Portrait, possibly of Catherine-Charlotte de la Trémoille'', ca 1589, attributed to Quesnel File:Henri3France.jpg, ''Portrait of

Henri III of France Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of L ...

'', ca. 1582-86The King wears the '' cordon bleu'' of his Ordre du Saint-Esprit, inaugurated in 1578
Louvre Museum database
. attributed to Quesnel ( Musée du Louvre) File:Plan de Paris en 1609.jpg, Quesnel's 1609 map of Paris, engraved by Pierre Vallet, ''le jeune''

External links and images

Several portrait drawings, some identified sitters, Harvard Art Museums

Engraving of François Quesnel
by Pierre Brebiette, Joconde database, with motto 'Quo pedibus Ferri non queo mente Feror.'
''Portrait of a Noblewoman'' (attributed), Detroit Institute of Arts

''Portrait of a Bearded Man'' (attributed), Cleveland Museum of Art

''Portrait of a Bearded Man'' (attributed), Royal Collection

* ttp://www.portrait-renaissance.fr/Artistes/francois_quesnel.html Biography of Quesnel (in French)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quesnel, Francois 16th-century French painters French male painters 17th-century French painters 16th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 17th-century Scottish painters 1619 deaths 1540s births French people of Scottish descent Artists from Edinburgh French Mannerist painters French tapestry artists