“Courtly refinement”: Special Features of Some Female Portraits of the Fontainebleau School

A group of masters who worked at the court of the French king Francis I and his successors left a bright mark on the fine art of the Renaissance. The object of the current study is a female nude portrait as part of the heritage of the Fontainebleau School. The Italian origins of this genre are traced, an attempt is made to explain the reasons for its special popularity in France in the XVIth century; sources of iconography are determined, stylistic features of some portraits and their connection with the tradition of Gothic and early French Renaissance art are analyzed. The author proposes to consider the female portraits made by the masters of the School of Fontainebleau in terms of belonging to the court culture including the festive one.