PERRAL, JEAN

born c. 1460, , Paris?, Fr. died , June/July, 1530, Paris/Lyon Perral also spelled Peral, also called Johannes Parisiensus, or Jean De Paris painter, architect, and sculptor, the most important portrait painter in France at the beginning of the 16th century. Perral was a court painter to the Bourbons and later worked for Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I of France. He traveled to Italy several times between 1492 and 1530 and in 1514 visited London, where he painted a portrait of the princess Mary Tudor. Perral designed tombs, medals, and public ceremonials. A painting of Charles VIII of France and a miniature, "Pierre Sala," are probably the most important works now attributed to him. Perral was a superb craftsman who in his portraits grafted a French elegance of design and presentation onto conventional Flemish realism.