Melun Diptych

Seated on an elaborate gold throne, the Madonna and the Christ Child are depicted in the right panel. The Madonna wears a blue dress, white mantle and a jewel-encrusted crown. She is a virgo lactans or breast-feeding Madonna, a common type, although here the feeding has stopped. On her lap sits the Child, who makes a pointing gesture to the left with his left hand at the patron and the saint. The two are surrounded by blue and red cherubim, which greatly contrast with the pale skin of the Virgin and child. Although the figures are modeled realistically, the mood is otherworldly, described by the art critic Roger Fry as a dreamlike state of sentimentalism.[1] The Madonna is depicted here as the Queen of Heaven, and the painting is meant to reveal her as between the veil of heaven and earth. She is both human and otherworldly.[2][3] The unnatural colors have been attributed to represent the heraldic colors of the king, being red, white, and blue.[4]

The Virgin is believed to be an idealized portrait of Agnès Sorel, mistress of King Charles VII, who died two years earlier. Sorel was considered by many at the time to be "the most beautiful woman in the world" and therefore an obvious choice after which to model the Virgin.[4] This makes the depiction what art historians call a "disguised portrait". As minister of finance to the king, Étienne Chevalier was the executor of her will.[5] Her costume and physical attributes have been compared to other representations of Sorel, such as another painting by Fouquet in which her dress is very similar to that in the diptych. It has also been suggested that the woman could be Chevalier's wife, Catherine Bude, over whose tomb the diptych was hung in Notre Dame, Melun.[2]

Left wing of the diptych depicts Étienne Chevalier with his patron saint St. Stephen, Berlin

On the left Étienne Chevalier, the treasurer to King Charles VII of France, kneels in a red robe with his hands in a position of prayer. The king liked to have non-aristocrats such as Chevalier about him because he thought them more reliable than nobles. On his right is Chevalier's patron saint, St. Stephen, in a dark deacon's robes with gold trim. His right arm is draped across Chevalier's shoulder while his left hand holds a book and a jagged rock, his representational attribute as he was stoned to death.[6] Archaeologists have identified the stone as a depiction of a man-made artefact, likely an Acheulean hand axe from c. 160,000–300,000 years ago. Its red–brown colour is characteristic of flint tools commonly found in northern France and eastern Britain, which Fouquet was probably familiar with.[7][8] Both men gaze off to the right as if they were looking at the Virgin and child on the other panel. The wall behind the treasurer and his patron saint is inlaid with marble panels and has elaborate white and gold moldings. The tiled floor's neutral colors create a stark contrast with the saturated colors of the men's robes. Identifying Chevalier is an engraving on the wall behind him that says "IER ESTIEN". This lettering has been used to link the painting to Fouquet since he never signed any of his work. It is very similar to lettering used in several miniatures which are attributed to him.[9]

Medallion originally on the frame now at the Louvre

The original frame was covered in blue velvet with silver and gold embroidery, antique love knots, and pearls. It also included a self-portrait medallion of Jean Fouquet. Fouquet is shown frontally, his gold image is engraved into the black enamel background and framed by his name. It is believed that he invented this technique. The original position of the diptych high above the tomb would have made it difficult to see the tiny medallion and since the pieces have since been separated, its exact position on the frame is unclear. The medallion was Fouquet's way of signing the diptych. It is traditionally recognized as the oldest self-signed self-portrait and is Fouquet's only signed work.[2]