The Musée du Louvre has recently received in donation a Portrait of François Ier as Saint John the Baptist, attributed to Jean Clouet. On this occasion, the author proposes to date the work to 1520, or soon after, based on the physical appearance of the King, and on the iconographical analysis. The parrot, which appears in the upper left, is a symbol of eloquence, which is suitable for both the
... [Show full abstract] patron saint of preachers and for François Ier, who was praised for the ease and persuasiveness of his words. At the same time, Antique tradition linked the parrot with the salutation addressed to Caesar. The French King, who vanquished the Swiss at Marignan in 1515, was considered the new Julius Caesar by his entourage. Finally the King's devotion to Saint Jean the Baptist, as attested to by two separate documents dated 1517, was tied to the fact that both men were born very late in life, and thus miraculously to couples who had seemed sterile.
