About this artwork

This tender drawing shows the young Princess Madeleine aged around four years old. Her plump cheeks and lively eyes give no indication of the ill health that would mar the princess’s life. A marriage between James V of Scotland and a daughter of Francis I was a term negotiated for the Franco-Scottish political agreement, the Treaty of Rouen (1517). In 1536 James arrived in France. Despite Madeleine’s fragile health, the couple fell in love, and they married in Paris on 1 January 1537. After their arrival in Scotland, tragically Madeleine only lived for two months, dying in July 1537 aged 16. 

Published December 2022

  • artist:
    Jean Clouet (about 1485/90 - about 1540/41) French
  • title:
    Madeleine of France, Queen of Scotland (1520-1537) 
  • date created:
    About 1524
  • workshop of:
    Jean Clouet (about 1485/90 - about 1540/41) French
  • materials:
    Chalk on paper
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Accepted by HM Government in Lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the National Galleries of Scotland, 2022
  • accession number:
    PG 3826.17
  • gallery:
  • subject:
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Jean Clouet

Jean Clouet