Representations of Renaissance Monarchy ─ Francis I and the image-makers

Representations of Renaissance monarchy analyses the portraits and personal imagery of the renowned 'Father of Arts and Letters', Francis I, one of the most frequently portrayed rulers of sixteenth-century Europe. The distinctive likeness of the Valois king was widely disseminated and perceived by his French subjects and Tudor and Habsburg rivals abroad. In providing a valuable point of comparison with publications on the representation of Henry VIII, the book makes a meaningful contribution to scholarship on the enterprise of royal image-making and practice of visual rhetoric in the courts of early modern Europe. It also provides a useful guide on the manipulative mechanics of portraiture as a social tool and cultural phenomenon. Whereas conventional studies of images of rule emphasise the propagandistic agency or regulatory capacity of royal images and objects, the dispersive replication of Francis I's portraits are shown to have impacted on his reputation in unexpectedly positive and negative ways. The discussion not only highlights the inventiveness of the visual arts in Renaissance France but also alludes to the enduring politics of physical appearance and seductive power of the face and body in modern visual culture.

Published on the five hundredth anniversary of Francis I's accession in 1515, this book will appeal to scholars and students of medieval and Renaissance art, the history of portraiture or anyone interested in images of monarchy and the history of France.

Lisa Mansfield is Lecturer in Art History at the University of Adelaide