Hands Detail of Madame de Canaples

Madame de Canaples (Marie d'Assigny, 1502 - 58), by Jean Clouet, about 1525. Accession no. NG 1930, Medium Oil on panel, Size 36.00 x 28.50 cm.

"This aristocratic lady, shown in three-quarter view, rests her hands on a ledge, enhancing the illusion that she appears to exist in believable space. It also draws attention to her many rings. The portrait was probably painted in 1525, the year that Marie d’Assigny married Jean de Crequi, sire de Canaples. The painting is close in character to a drawing by Clouet (now in Chantilly) which bears an inscription identifying the sitter as Madame de Canaples, a lady at the court of François I."

Her hands are covered in rings, but notice that her middle finger on both hands are empty. Also note the pyramid shaped raw diamond on the index finger of her right hand. Diamonds during this age were not cut like we know them today, and were often depicted as being black or dark, since they don't reflect as much light in their uncut state.

Image with great thanks to Lady Jerusha Kilgore (mka Susan Farmer), Clouet_Red, aka Madame de Canaples (Marie d'Assigny, 1502 - 58) [Art] Retrieved November 30, 2006 from the World Wide Web: http://epee.goldsword.com/sfarmer/SCA/Paintings/clouet_Red.jpg. This is the same image, but from a different source, than the image shown here.