born 0441; 1485
died 0441; 1540, Paris, Fr.
French painter.
He was chief painter to Francis I and produced many pastel portraits of members of the French court. Clouet was one of the best 16th-century portrait painters, both incisive and delicate in the psychological characterization of sitters. His drawings are simple, broad, and subtle; his paintings are fresh in colour, subdued in modeling, and minute in execution. He was celebrated in his lifetime as the equal of Michelangelo . His son François Clouet ( 0441; 151572) took his place as official painter to Francis I in 1540.