François I and La Belle Ferronière
by MENJAUD, Alexandre, Oil on canvas, 66 x 82 cm
This painting was exhibited at the 1810 Salon in Paris. The mythology of Fran�ois I as a philanderer was already current when Menjaud chose to paint the subject of the King with one of his many mistresses. In fact, Fran�ois’s affair with “la belle Ferroni�re” is now known to have been a fabrication, dating to some years after the King’s death.