Diane de Poitiers was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and family's status. She was a major patron of French Renaissance architecture.
Diane de Poitiers, Jean Clouet, 1525
Anonymous sketch of Diane de Poitiers after a 1525 original
The painting A Lady in Her Bath by François Clouet possibly depicts either Diane de Poitiers or Mary, Queen of Scots. A noted beauty, Diane maintained her good looks well into her fifties and was immortalized in both sculpture and paintings. She sat for other paintings of the time, often topless or nude, other times in traditional poses.
Diane de Poitiers, François Clouet, 1555
Henry II was King of France from 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder brother Francis in 1536.
1559 portrait
Henry as a child
Henry II enters Metz following the 1552 Treaty of Chambord
Henry II