Portrait of Catherine de Montholon

portrait

Of all the French provinces, Burgundy had the most significant cultural history in the late Middle Ages. The capital, Dijon, had been the centre of a glittering court which ruled over what had become, by the middle of the fifteenth century, an empire that included much of the Netherlands. The stability of the region came to an abrupt end with the death of Charles the Bold at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, when Burgundy was immediately absorbed into France.

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About the Artist

Jean Tassel

1608 – 1667

French painter, son of the painter Richard Tassel. He began his career in Italy. No picture from his Italian period has yet been identified with certainty, but it may well be that the small group of pictures at present called 'The Master of the Judgment of Solomon' could be by Tassel. On his return to France, Tassel worked in Troyes, Dijon, and his native Langres, where he received a number of commissions towards the end of his life. He acquired considerable skill in Italy, but his style remained totally out of touch with developments, even in the rest of France. The fascination of his work lies in his ability to create a mood of brooding and exaggeration, partly through his trick of painting his figures with slanting eyes. Only one portrait, the Catherine de Montholon at Dijon, is given to him with any certainty.

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