Jean Fouquet (c.1420-c.1480) was a distinguished French painter of the 15th century. He painted for the French monarchy, and was given the title of Court Painter. He was well known for his portrait, panel painting and manuscript illumination works.
Fouquet is also thought to have been the person who produced the earliest portrait miniature, which was a form of portraiture that was inspired by the techniques used to create illuminated manuscripts.
A page from one of the most famous manuscripts of the fifteenth century- The “Hours of Étienne Chevalier”
In addition to being one of the earliest portrait miniature, it may have been one of the earliest formal self-portrait.
The first French artist to travel to Italy, Fouquet picked up Italian painting techniques, and brought them back with him to France. We can see in his works that there are elements of Flemish and Italian techniques in his French-style paintings.
I find Fouquet’s paintings pleasing to look at. He utilizes rich colours, especially primary colours. These make his paintings pop and make them feel lively, despite the somber looking subjects in his paintings. We can see this in paintings such as “Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels.” and “Etienne Chevalier with St. Stephen”.
Sources:
www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Fouquet
study.com/academy/lesson/jean-fouquet-paintings-biography-education.html
www.visual-arts-cork.com/old-masters/jean-fouquet.htm
itsartalicious.wordpress.com/2015/04/30/self-portrait-of-jean-fouquet/
www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/459207
www.visual-arts-cork.com/genres/self-portraits.htm#italianrenaissance