Abstract

After an unsuccessful campaign for the emperorship, King Francis I of France (r. 1515-47) became the principal political antagonist of Charles V, who had secured the coveted Imperial title. Although Francis I supported the German Protestants for political reasons, he determinedly fought Protestantism in his own realm. A generous patron of the arts, he acquired works that laid the foundation for what eventually became the collection of the Louvre.

King Francis I of France (c. 1525-30)

  • Jean Clouet

Source

Source: Jean Clouet, Francis I, King of France, oil on wood panel, c. 1527-1530. Musée du Louvre. Online available from Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFran%C3%A7ois_Ier_Louvre.jpg