there is an ancient and
unbroken tradition in the attribution of many of his pictures. There are
not, however, any original attestations of his works, nor are any
documents known which would guarantee the ascriptions usually accepted.
To him are attributed the portraits of Francis I. at the Uffizi and at
the Louvre, and various drawings relating to them. He probably also
painted the portrait of Catherine de' Medici at Versailles and other
works, and in all probability a large number of the drawings ascribed to
him were from his hand. One of his most remarkable portraits is that of
Mary, queen of Scots, a drawing in chalks in the Bibliotheque Nationale,
and of similar character are the two portraits of Charles IX. and the
one at Chantilly of Marguerite of France. Perhaps his masterpiece is the
portrait of Elizabeth of Austria in the Louvre.

He resided in Paris in the rue de Ste Avoye in the Temple quarter, close
to the Hotel de Guise, and in 1568 is known to have been under the
patronage of Claude Gouffier de Boisy, Seigneur d'Oiron, and his wife
Claude de Baune. Another ascertained fact concerning Francois Clouet is
that in 1571 he was "summoned to the office of the Court of the Mint,"
and his opinion was taken on the likeness to the king of a portrait
struck by the mint. He prepared the death-mask of Henry II., as in 1547
he had taken a similar mask of the face and hands of Francis I., in
order that the effigy to be used at the funeral might be prepared from
his drawings; and on each of these occasions he executed the painting to
be used in the decorations of the church and the banners for the great
ceremony.

Several miniatures are believed to be his work, one very remarkable
portrait being the half-length figure of Henry II. in the collection of
Mr J. Pierpont Morgan. Another of his portraits is that of the duc
d'Alencon in the Jones collection at South Kensington, and certain
representations of members of the royal family which were in the
Hamilton Palace collection and the Magniac sale are usually ascribed to
him. He died on the 22nd of December 1572, shortly after the massacre of
St Bartholomew, and his will, mentioning his sister and his two
illegitimate daughters, and dealing with the disposition of a
considerable amount of property, is still in existence. His daughters
subsequently became nuns.

His work is remarkable for the extreme accuracy of the drawing, the
elaborate finish of all the details, and the