Ulrich Middeldorf 
 
NOTES ON A BOOK OF 
 DRAWINGS ATTRIBUTED 
 TO BERNARD PALISSY 
 WHICH BELONGED TO 
 DIANE DE POITIERS 
 
 WITH A 
 
 SHORT SKETCH OF HER 
 LIBRARY, HER ART COL- 
 LECTIONS, AND HER LIFE 
 
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NOTES ON A BOOK OF DRAWINGS 
 ATTRIBUTED TO BERNARD PALISSY 
 WHICH BELONGED TO DIANE DE 
 POITIERS. 
 
 WITH A SHORT SKETCH OF HER 
 LIBRARY, HER ART COLLECTIONS, 
 AND HER LIFE. 
 
 AMONGST the great ladies who have 
 L formed libraries, one of the most eminent 
 was Diane de Poitiers, and no books are more 
 sought after at the present day than the volumes 
 which were once in her possession, or those 
 far rarer ones which bear her arms. 
 
 She was a patroness of the Arts at the best 
 period of the French Renaissance, and em- 
 ployed as far as possible artists who were 
 French, in opposition to Catherine de Medicis, 
 who favoured her Italian countrymen. Her 
 taste for the Fine Arts was refined, and her 
 library, though small, was one of the most 
 magnificent ever brought together. Practi- 
 
6 
 
 cally the whole of her Collection was, more 
 by accident than design, saved for her own 
 country, and the very few volumes which 
 passed from France have been gradually ab- 
 sorbed into National Museums. It is now 
 an extraordinarily rare occurrence to find an 
 example of her Library even in the most 
 notable private Collection. 
 
 The present exquisite little volume is a 
 unique and personal relic of Diane de 
 Poitiers. It is a small quarto, about 5! in. 
 by 4 in., and contains thirty-six leaves of 
 blue paper. The first leaf is blank, except 
 for an outline ruled border. On the recto 
 of the second leaf is the full armorial shield 
 of Diane de Poitiers emblazoned in colours 
 upon a gilt dotted background. The shield 
 is a lozenge-shaped one of a widow, and the 
 quarterings are as follows: i. Azure, within 
 an orle of eight crosses or an inescutcheon 
 argent within an orle of the second (Breze). 
 Impaling, quarterly, i. Azure, six bezants, 
 three, two and one, a chief or (Saint Vallier), 
 2 and 3. Azure, semee of fleur-de-lys or, on a 
 quarter argent three crescents gules, one and 
 two (a Royal augmentation). 4. Argent, four 
 piles issuant from the base sable (Ruffo). 
 
7 
 
 The presence of these last arms upon the 
 shield is accounted for thus. In 141 4 a cer- 
 tain Nicolas Ruffo, Marquis of Contron, in 
 Italy, was despoiled of his possessions and 
 forced to flee the country for having espoused 
 the cause of Louis d'Anjou, Taking refuge 
 in France, he married Marguerite de Poitiers, 
 daughter of Louis de Poitiers. This latter, 
 from being his father-in-law, became also his 
 son-in-law by marrying Polixene Ruffo, the 
 Marquis's daughter. As Nicolas RufFo died 
 without heirs, his arms, titles, and eventual 
 rights in regard to his property passed to the 
 family of Poitiers. The Royal augmentation 
 is a combination of Henri IPs arms and 
 Diane's crescents. 
 
 It is noticeable that the shield as here 
 illuminated differs slightly from Diane's usual 
 one in having the augmentation in the second 
 and third quarters. (In the one generally found 
 this coat is in the second only, the Ruffo coat 
 in the third, and the Saint-Vallier repeated in 
 the fourth.) Over the shield is Diane's gold 
 coronet, with the various gems painted in 
 colour. 
 
 On the recto of the second leaf is a drawing 
 of the goddess Diana. She is clothed in a 
 flowing robe open at the thigh, and carries a 
 
8 
 
 bow in the right hand and an arrow in the 
 left. At her feet are two dogs. 
 
 The remaining thirty-two leaves contain 
 sixty-five exquisite drawings attributed to 
 Bernard Palissy, for vases, dishes, bowls, urns, 
 lamps, ewers, candlesticks, etc,, boldly drawn 
 and shaded, and the effects heightened with 
 Chinese white and colours, each design being 
 enclosed in a frame made with a broad band 
 of gilding. There can be but little doubt 
 that the present volume is the pattern- 
 book sent by Palissy to Diane when she 
 was preparing the decorations of the 
 Chateau d'Anet, in which she was so greatly 
 absorbed. 
 
 The binding of the volume (probably by 
 fitienne RofFet) is of black morocco, tooled in 
 the Grolier manner. The centre panel is en- 
 closed in a very elaborate geometrical frame- 
 work formed of interlacing strapwork. The 
 interior space is filled with simple curved foliate 
 tools, engraved in outline only, and another out- 
 line formal tool is stamped at each corner. 
 Some of the spaces between the strapwork are 
 relieved with dots. 
 
 The volume contains inscriptions of later 
 owners. One runs, " ex libri Claudii Fay, 
 cL^," and the family of Fay d'Espeisses was 
 
9 
 
 noted for a fine Library collected and preserved 
 by many generations. The volume belonged 
 to a member of this familv, and the (tA denotes 
 the source from which it was derived — the 
 Chateau d'Anet. 
 
lO 
 
 The Library whkh Diane brought to-- 
 gether at the Chateau d'Anet was a small but 
 splendid one, both as regards the books them- 
 selves and also for their bindings. There is, 
 however, considerable doubt as to the books 
 which were actually bound for her. 
 
 But there can be no doubt whatever regard- 
 ing the very few which, like the present 
 volume of Drawings, bear her arms as 
 Duchesse de Valentinois. 
 
 The case is different, however, as regards 
 those which simply bear her emblems, or 
 the monogram of herself and her Royal 
 lover. About this monogram there has been 
 considerable controversy, some writers sug- 
 gesting that it was not intended as H.D., 
 but as H.C. for Henri and Catherine. Usually, 
 however, the Queen used a crowned K as an 
 initial, and when the rare monogram H.C. 
 occurs, it is quite distinct from the mono- 
 gram H.D., as the ends of the C distinctly 
 overlap the side-strokes of the H. The 
 H.D. monogram occurs on those books which 
 belonged to Diane, and remained in the 
 Library of Anet until its final dispersal; but 
 it also seems certain that the volumes on 
 which it is found were not really bound for 
 her. We know that Henri when he first came 
 
1 1 
 
 under the influence of Diane de Poitiers, 
 about 1530, adopted her emblems and initial, 
 and wore them with ostentation. The mono- 
 gram is found on all the buildings erected 
 for the King, and on many objects and orna- 
 ments made for himself. Thus we find the 
 monogram, the bow, the crescents, and other 
 emblems on books bound for him ; and though 
 many of them doubtless found their way into 
 the hands of his Mistress, they were not 
 specially bound for her, and the description 
 usually applied to them, " bound for Henri II 
 and Diane de Poitiers," is very misleading 
 and not accurate. Some of the most valuable 
 books given to Diane by Henri were volumes 
 which had formed part of the old Royal collec- 
 tions. For example, the magnificent " Bible 
 Ystoriaux " of Guyart des Moulins, given to 
 King John, who had placed upon it the inscrip- 
 tion "A moi Jehan roy," passed into the famous 
 library of his son the Due de Berri, and from his 
 into the ancient library of the French Kings in 
 the Louvre. This was given by Henri to Diane, 
 and from him she also obtained the manuscript 
 of the translation of part of Livy by Pierre 
 Bercheux, Prior of Saint-Eloi at Paris, in a 
 binding with a medallion of Charles de 
 Bourbon, its original owner in the time of 
 
12 
 
 Louis XII) and with eight metal bosses con- 
 taining his monogram. When in 1555 Denis 
 Sauvage published his translation of the His- 
 tories of Paulus Jovius in two volumes at 
 Lyons, he at once had a special copy bound 
 for presentation to the King with a portrait 
 medallion in gold at each corner with the 
 motto " Ex veto publico." This volume, 
 also, the King handed over for the Library at 
 Anet, where it remained until the dispersal in 
 the eighteenth century, when it was pur- 
 chased, with the two others mentioned above, 
 by M. de Sardieris. 
 
 During the reign of Henri II French binding 
 reached its greatest perfection. The Artists 
 who bound the Royal volumes which have 
 come down to us owed much to the work 
 of the Italians; but, while they did not ser- 
 vilely copy, they utilized the designs with 
 improvements of their own. Italian bindings 
 were tending to become over-ornamented ; the 
 French binders reverted to an earlier simplicity. 
 Those of this class have the sides ornamented 
 with a panel, either of gilt and plain lines 
 mixed, or with a band of interlaced ropework 
 between fillets. In the centre is a stamp of 
 the Royal arms of France crowned and sur- 
 rounded with the collar of the Order of 
 
1 3 
 
 St. Michael, all within a framework of four of 
 Diane's bows joined together at the ends. 
 Here and there the H.D. monogram and the 
 cluster of crescents is stamped, while a light- 
 ness is added by the addition of a few gilt 
 fleurs-de-lis. These bindings in their simplicity 
 are reminiscent of some of the graceful work 
 done for Grolier by Aldus's bookbinders. 
 
 Another style, also Italian in origin, was well 
 represented in Henri H's library. In this the 
 side was decorated with an elaborate geometri- 
 cal design carried out with interlacing strap- 
 work, which was often painted or enamelled 
 in different colours, while the effect was 
 heightened by filling some of the intervening 
 spaces with gold dots. 
 
 Some of the bindings are also found orna- 
 mented in what is known as the Lyonnese 
 style. The main decoration was interlaced 
 strapwork, but entwined with it are delicate 
 sprays with outline leaves, which give the 
 whole a light effect. A few bindings were 
 also made for Henri II which bear his por- 
 trait in profile stamped as a cameo, while the 
 rest of the cover is heavily dotted with gold. 
 
 Though various styles are represented at 
 this period, one point is noticeable in all. In 
 spite of the lavish decoration of some of the 
 
volumes, the tools used were simple. The 
 designs were worked out with lines and 
 curves, and, with the exceptions of the mono- 
 grams and emblems, few engraved tools were 
 used. The reserve and simplicity of many of 
 the bindings are as remarkable as their fine 
 effect, an effect due to an artist who could 
 work out elaborate designs by simple means 
 and was not dependent on engraved ornaments 
 to relieve the weakness of his invention or 
 execution. 
 
 The Royal binders at this period were 
 Etienne Roffet and Claude Piques. Jehan 
 Roucault and Jehan Louvet were the most 
 celebrated gilders, and though they worked 
 upon leather, it is not known if they actually 
 executed bindings. Geoffrey Tory, a clever 
 draughtsman, both bound books and designed 
 the ornament on his work. 
 
 A very careful examination of the existing 
 records of her Library proves that only the 
 following eighteen books were certainly bound 
 for Diane : — 
 
 1. La Bible en Francoys, 1545. {BibltO" 
 
 the que Sainte- Genevieve. ) 
 
 2. Psalmi Davidici, 1547. {Chateau de 
 
 Chantilly.) 
 
15 
 
 3. Chants Royaux. Manuscript. {Royal 
 
 Library^ Copenhagen.) 
 
 4. Pourquoi Ton dit chaque Jour. Manu- 
 
 script. {Bibliotheque Nationale.) 
 
 5. Orationes Basilii, 1556. {City of Reims.) 
 
 6. Hippolyti Salviani. 1557. {City of 
 
 Poitiers.) 
 
 7. Oeuvres d'Ange Politien. {(^^fy of 
 
 Bordeaux.) 
 
 8. Discours sur les Sibylles, 1558. {City of 
 
 Bordeaux.) 
 
 9. Les Folles Entreprises. {Chateau de 
 
 Chantilly.) 
 
 0. Oronte Gigante, 1531. {Turner Col- 
 
 lection^ 1878.) 
 
 1. Histoire des Deux Amantz. Manuscript. 
 
 {Bibliotheque Nationale.) 
 
 2. Geographice Enarrationis, 1541. {Biblio- 
 
 theque Nationale.) 
 
 3. Histoire de la Destruction de Troye. 
 
 Manuscript. {Hermitage Library^ 
 Petrograd.) 
 
 4. Vies de Huit Personages. Manuscript. 
 
 {Bibliotheque Nationale.) 
 
 5. Histoire des Dues de Milan, 1549. 
 
 {Riva Library^ Milan.) 
 65 Livres de la Boscachardine. {Bibliotheque 
 Nationale.) 
 
i6 
 
 17. Terrier du Marquisat de Breval, Manu- 
 
 script. {Firman-Didot Collection.) 
 
 18. The Present Volume of Drawings 
 
 BY Bernard Palissy. {Fay Collection.) 
 
17 
 
 Diane de Poitiers, born on the third of 
 September 1499, was the eldest daughter of 
 Jean de Poitiers and his wife Jeanne de 
 Baternay. She spent her childhood at her 
 father's chateau at Saint-Vallier, and when only 
 six years of age accompanied him on horse- 
 back on his hunting and hawking expeditions. 
 The open-air life, and a fondness for cold 
 water, rare in those days, perfected the natural 
 beauty of the girl, and when she was ten 
 years old she was betrothed to Louis de Breze, 
 Comte de Maulevrier and Grand Seneschal de 
 Normandie. He was a grandson of Charles VIII, 
 for his mother was the daughter of Agnes 
 Sorel, that King's mistress. 
 
 The marriage took place in 1 5 1 5, and though 
 the bridegroom was ugly, deformed, and thirty 
 years older than the bride, he was a wealthy 
 and powerful noble, and the marriage seems 
 to have been a happy one. Diane bore her 
 husband two daughters, and for nine years 
 lived an uneventful life, appearing at Court 
 as one of the ladies of the King's mother, 
 Louise de Savoie, Comtesse d'Angouleme. 
 
 In 1523 the conspiracy of Charles de Bour- 
 bon against Fran9ois I was exposed through 
 the agency of Louis de Breze, but unfortunately 
 amongst those implicated in the plot was 
 
i8 
 
 Jean de Poitiers, Diane's father. Condemned 
 to death, his sentence was at the last moment 
 commuted to one hardly preferable — confine- 
 ment for life in a small room with only one 
 window, through which his food and drink 
 might be passed to him. This change from 
 an immediate to a living death was only 
 granted in answer to the fervent intercessions 
 of Diane and her husband, and of the King's 
 wife Claude, amongst whose ladies Diane was 
 then numbered. It has often been alleged 
 that Fran9ois I took advantage of this occur- 
 rence to make Diane his mistress, but there is 
 no authority for this assertion. Louis de Breze 
 died in 1531, and his widow changed her 
 colours from green and white to black and 
 white. After the death of her husband, to whom 
 she had been a devoted wife, her romantic and 
 best-known story commenced, which joined 
 her life with that of Henri II. When almost 
 a boy he had formed a devoted attachment to 
 her. At a Tournament in 1530 his lance had 
 been broken in her honour, and as she was 
 then thirty-one years of age, while the Prince 
 was but fifteen, many strange stories were 
 circulated to account for his infatuation for 
 one so much older than himself. The attach- 
 ment remained unbroken throughout his life, 
 
19 
 
 a memorial of his constancy and Diane's 
 charm. 
 
 As Dauphin he and his household adopted 
 her colours of black and white, and on his 
 doublet he wore the interlaced initials D and 
 H, and the golden crescents, to show his 
 devotion to the widow. As a recent writer 
 remarks, " there is a certain irony in the 
 princely lover wearing the colours of his 
 mistress mourning for her husband." 
 
 In 1549 Francois I died, and Diane de Poi- 
 tiers arrived at Saint-Germain, the acknow- 
 ledged mistress of the new King. Her position 
 was one of peculiar interest, and one which is 
 almost incomprehensible to the modern view. 
 It must be remembered that, apart from her 
 personal beauty, she had great intellectual 
 accomplishments and a refined and catholic 
 taste in art, and above all a powerful mind and 
 strong character. Henri II shared her love 
 for the arts, but his will was weak, and he was 
 easily swayed by the tactful woman who con- 
 cealed her power under a velvet glove, did 
 everything which she thought could please 
 him, and was able to enter fully into his 
 country sports and other amusements. She 
 ruled the Court and the King's household, and 
 indeed was virtual Queen of France, while the 
 
20 
 
 lawful wife, Catherine de Medicis, lived in 
 comparative obscurity. The Queen, though 
 young, for she was not eighteen at the time 
 of her marriage, had been trained to maintain 
 great control over her feelings and actions, 
 and, whatever she may have felt, exhibited no 
 anger or resentment against the favourite, and 
 even pretended to make a friend of her. The 
 whole management of the Royal household 
 appears to have been left in her capable hands. 
 She looked after the Royal children, and con- 
 sulted with Monsieur de Huymieres, their 
 governor, as to their welfare and upbringing. 
 She communicated the King's wishes for all the 
 movements of his family from one Royal resi- 
 dence to another, superintended the appoint- 
 ments of servants, and consulted the physicians 
 if the children were ill. At the same time 
 she had to employ all her skill in keeping 
 Henri to her side and preparing changes of 
 amusements and employments to keep him 
 interested. But with all her charm she kept 
 her own objects in view. She was rapacious 
 rather than ambitious ; she concerned herself 
 little with government, devoting her energies 
 chiefly to augmenting her income and pro- 
 viding for her family and friends. Every- 
 thing depended on her hold over the King. 
 
21 
 
 For thirteen years Diane had reigned supreme 
 in France, but in 1559 her fortunes were 
 eclipsed and her triumphant career ended. In 
 June of that year the double marriage took 
 place of Henri's daughter Elizabeth with 
 Philip the Second of Spain, the widower of 
 Mary Tudor, Queen of England, and of 
 Margaret, daughter of Fran9ois I, with the 
 Duke of Savoy. As was the custom of 
 the time, the event was celebrated with a 
 grand Tournament, held on three consecutive 
 days. It is said that Henri's death was 
 foretold by the astrologers, and that the 
 superstitious Queen Catherine de Medicis had 
 entreated him not to enter the lists. He paid 
 no heed to such warnings, and his successes 
 on the first two days seemed to prove them 
 groundless. The third day was one of unusual 
 splendour, and amongst the other assembled 
 princes and nobles sat the youthful Mary 
 Queen of Scots, and her husband the Dauphin 
 Franfois. All had gone well with the King 
 until the close of the day, when, for a final 
 contest, he challenged Gabriel de Montgomery, 
 Count de Loches, a captain of the Scottish 
 Guard. By an unfortunate accident, on re- 
 crossing the arena after the first charge, the 
 broken shaft of Montgomery's lance pierced 
 
22 
 
 the Kine's visor and inflicted a serious wound. 
 Then came the Queen's opportunity. For 
 years she had had to give place to the 
 favourite, but now she exercised her rights as 
 Queen and took her place by her husband's 
 side. For eleven days the King lingered, 
 and though Diane pleaded for one visit to 
 the dying man, Catherine sternly refused 
 it, and ordered her to retire to her own 
 residence. The end was foreshadowed when 
 the Queen issued an order commanding her 
 to restore all such jewels in her possession as 
 belonged to the Crown, and to quit Paris 
 immediately. In reply to her inquiry as to 
 whether the King was dead, she was told that 
 he could not last out the day. Then she sent 
 back her last proud answer to the Queen, 
 saying that while a spark of life remained in 
 the King she had no other ruler, and had no 
 fear of her enemies, and that on his death her 
 grief would be too deep to allow her to feel 
 the insults that might be offered her. After 
 Henri's death Catherine deprived Diane of 
 much of her property and wealth, but the 
 Chateau d'Anet, standing on land which had 
 belonged to the Breze family for genera- 
 tions, still remained her own, and there she 
 retired. The remaining years of her life 
 
23 
 
 were spent in seclusion, far removed from 
 the amusements or troubles of the Court. 
 Occasionally she received visits from Diane 
 de France, her unacknowledged daughter by 
 Henri, or from the Duchesse d'Aumale, her 
 daughter, and the heiress of Louis de Breze. 
 She visited and relieved the poor, and attended 
 services in her private Chapel, and in 1566 
 died and was buried in the magnificent Chateau 
 which had been the scene of her greatest 
 happiness. 
 
24 
 
 The Chateau d'Anet, when it passed in 
 1444 into the possession of the family of 
 Breze, was a partly ruined fortress to which, 
 during succeeding years, miscellaneous additions 
 were made. When Diane de Poitiers came 
 into possession, after the death of Louis de 
 Breze, she made large additions to the pro- 
 perty, and demolished a considerable part of 
 the irregular buildings. So modest a residence 
 was not suitable, however, for a woman of 
 such power and importance, so in 1548 the 
 new Chateau d'Anet, destined to be one of 
 the most magnificent palaces in France, was 
 begun. It was a chef-d'ceuvre of the French 
 Renaissance, and unique in its decoration. 
 
 On the one hand, the owner wished to be 
 recognized as the sorrowing widow of Louis 
 de Breze, on the other as the ruling power 
 in France and the mistress of Henry II. In 
 memory of the former, black marble entered 
 largely into the scheme of decoration, while 
 the initials of the latter were scattered pro- 
 fusely all over the work. 
 
 The building and decoration were entrusted 
 as far as possible to French workmen rather 
 than to the Italians, who were then, under 
 the Queen's patronage, flocking to France. 
 Phiiibert de I'Orme was chosen as architect. 
 
This celebrated Master of the Renaissance 
 style was a native of Lyons, but studied in his 
 youth in Italy. Returning to France, he was 
 patronized by Cardinal du Bellay, and was 
 soon after employed at Paris. Appointed in 
 1545 architect to Fran9ois I, he worked for 
 a time in Brittany, and under Henry II 
 supervised the work at Fontainebleau, Saint- 
 Germain, and other Royal palaces. Anet was, 
 however, his masterpiece ; and the plans have 
 been preserved in Cerceau's " Plus excellens 
 bastimens de France." The exact dates of the 
 beginning and ending of the work arc not 
 known, but it was begun about 1548 and 
 finished before 1560. In that year de I'Orme 
 fell into disgrace with the Court, for Catherine, 
 in her hour of victory, was annoyed with him 
 for the pains spent on the Chateau of her rival. 
 In excuse he protested: "What I did at Anet, 
 where there are so many beautiful things, was 
 done at the command of the late King, who 
 was even more anxious to know what was 
 being done there than at his own Chateau, and 
 was annoyed with me when I was not there 
 often enough. Besides, it was all done for 
 the King." 
 
 Jean Goujon, a protege of Diane's, en- 
 riched the buildings with statues, bas-reliefs. 
 
26 
 
 balustrades, doorways, mantelpieces. He was 
 a famous Sculptor who was employed on most 
 of the important erections of his time. Un- 
 fortunately, during the vicissitudes which 
 Anet has undergone, a great deal of his work 
 disappeared or was destroyed, but his wonder- 
 ful fountain of Diane with the Stag is now 
 preserved in the Louvre, the portico of Anet 
 is now at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and his 
 bust of Diane is at Versailles. The decora- 
 tions of the chapel of Anet are still remaining 
 there. 
 
 Bernard Palissy designed most of the pottery 
 and ornaments used at Anet. For many years 
 he had worked with the utmost diligence and 
 constancy and a never-ceasing struggle against 
 Starvation to discover the secret of certain 
 glazed pottery or porcelain. Though not en- 
 tirely successful, he produced a superior class 
 of native pottery decorated with modelled or 
 applied reliefs coloured in imitation of nature. 
 He secured the patronage of the Connetable 
 de Montmorenci in 1548, who employed 
 him to produce coloured terra-cottas for the 
 Chateau d'Ecouen. Thenceforward his suc- 
 cess was assured, and he worked for many of 
 the leading persons of the kingdom. One of 
 his plaques, depicting Diane seated on a stag 
 
1/ 
 
27 
 
 and surrounded by her hounds, was in the 
 Fontaine and Spitzer collections. 
 
 The enamels were the work of Leonard 
 and Pierre Limousin. The former was the 
 more celebrated, and was one of a family of 
 seven Limoges enamel painters. In 1530 he 
 entered the service of Franfois I, and retained 
 his position under Henri IL For the latter 
 he executed a number of portraits in enamel 
 of Diane de Poitiers in various characters. In 
 the Louvre is a famous panel, " La Chasse,'* 
 depicting Henri II on a white horse, with 
 Diane also on horseback behind him. The 
 two brothers executed the twelve plaques of 
 the Apostles for the chapel at Anet. These 
 were designed about 1545 by Michel Rochetet, 
 and were intended for Fran9ois I, bearing his 
 emblem of the salamander. They were only 
 finished in the time of Henry II, in 1557. 
 In the accounts of the King for that year is a 
 note of the payment to Leonard Limousin for 
 the twelve Apostles, ordered by the late King 
 and delivered to Henri, " who had immediately 
 presented them to a certain place which he 
 did not w^ish to be there set down." These 
 enamels, saved from the Republican destroyers 
 of the Revolution, were given in 1802 to the 
 church of Chartres. 
 
28 
 
 The most celebrated of all goldsmiths, 
 Benvenuto Cellini, is believed to have worked 
 for Diane, and amongst other things which 
 he produced or designed is the splendid crystal 
 cup with the enamelled cover bearing the 
 devices of Henri and Diane, now at Florence. 
 
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29 
 
 At the death of Diane, the Chateau d'Anet 
 passed to Claude de Lorraine Due d'Aumale, 
 through his wife Louise de Breze, Diane's 
 daughter. On his death in 1573 his widow 
 gave the property to her son Charles de Lor- 
 raine, who married in 1576 his cousin Marie 
 de Lorraine. This noble, having kept up 
 Anet for many years with great splendour, 
 became one of the most ardent supporters of 
 the League, but was sentenced to death by 
 the Parliament of Paris. The sentence was 
 carried out upon his effigy while he himself 
 escaped to Brussels, where he passed the 
 remainder of his days. The Chateau d'Anet 
 was doomed to destruction, but by the inter- 
 cession of Henri IV it was saved. Among 
 the exiled Duke's creditors was Marie de 
 Luxembourg, Dowager Duchess of Lorraine 
 and Duchesse de Mercoeur, and when his 
 possessions were brought into liquidation she 
 obtained the property at the price of four 
 hundred thousand livres. 
 
 She took possession of Anet in 161 5, and it 
 passed into the possession of her only daughter, 
 Fran^oise de Lorraine, the wealthiest heiress 
 in France, who married Cesar de Vendome, 
 the natural son of Henri IV and Gabrielle 
 d'Estrees. These two possessed Anet for 
 
nearly fifty years, the Duchesse de Vendome 
 dying in September 1667, and Due Cesar 
 about six weeks later. Their eldest child, 
 Louis de Vendome, was the next owner, but 
 he held the property for a very short time. 
 By his marriage with Mile, de Mancini he 
 had two sons, Louis-Joseph and Philippe, but 
 on his wife's death he presented the Chateau 
 d'Anet to his eldest son and entered the 
 Church. He became Cardinal Legate to 
 Clement IX, and died in 1699. Under his 
 son's rule the Chateau witnessed strange 
 scenes. It was his favourite residence, and 
 there, surrounded by a small circle of intimates 
 of all classes used to his vagaries and vices, he 
 passed much of his time in foolish excesses. 
 At the same time he was a man of great 
 talent and a noted military commander. In 
 1702, at the King's request, he went to Italy 
 to take over the supreme command of the 
 army. In May 17 10 he married Mademoi- 
 selle d'Enghien, Marie Bourbon de Conde, 
 daughter of Henri Jules de Bourbon, Prince 
 of Conde, and Anne, Princess Palatine of 
 Bavaria. Under the marriage contract he 
 settled the estate of Anet on his wife. Shortly 
 after his marriage he left for Spain, where he 
 placed himself at the head of the army which 
 
31 
 
 restored Philip V to his Capital, after the 
 famous battle of Villa Viciosa on lo De- 
 cember 17 1 o — a victory due to the talent 
 and bravery of the Due de Vendome. He 
 died at Vanaroz in Valencia in 1712, and by 
 Philip's order was buried with great pomp in 
 the Escurial. His widow, the Duchesse de 
 Vendome, continued to inhabit the Chateau 
 d'Anet until her death in 171 8. She had 
 begun negotiations for its sale to the Crown, 
 but these came to nothing, and as she died 
 childless the estate passed to the Princesse de 
 Conde, who continued to reside at Anet 
 until her death in 1723. For some time 
 her possessions remained undivided amongst 
 her heirs, but finally her Collections were 
 widely dispersed. 
 
397 Notes on a Book of Drawings attributed to Bernard Palissy which belonged to 
 Diane de Poitiers. With a short sketch of her Library, her Art Collections, and her 
 Life. 32 pp. text, 6 plates. 8vo. no p., n.d. (London ca. 1915). :i>zz.3u 
 
 Four of the plates show designs l^y Palissy for ceramics, one the Grolier style hind- 
 ino of the hooh, and one Diane's coat of arms in the volume, one of the very few 
 knoivn to have heen lound for the great patroness of the arts and ever having left 
 the French Eoyal and national collections. 
 
 GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 
 
 3 aililJlii 7^^^^^