centuries.

From the time of Vincent de Beauvais, who died in 1264, France had not
been wanting in illustrious scholars, but it could not be said that a
French school of art existed. François Clouet or Cloet, called Jehannet,
was born in Tours about 1500. His portraits are seen in the Gallery of
the Louvre, and have been likened to those of Holbein; but they lack the
strength and spirit of that artist; in fact, the distinguishing feature
of Clouet's work is the remarkable finish of draperies and accessories,
while the profusion of jewels distracts attention from the heads of his
subjects.

The first great French artists were of the seventeenth century, and
although Clouet was painter to Francis I. and Henry II., the former, like
his predecessors, imported artists from Italy, among whom were Leonardo
da Vinci and Benvenuto Cellini.

In letters, however, there were French women of the sixteenth century who
are still famous. Marguerite de Valois was as cultivated in mind as she
was generous and noble in character. Her love of learning was not easily
satisfied. She was proficient in Hebrew, the classics, and the usual
branches of "profane letters," as well as an accomplished scholar in
philosophy and theology. As an author--though her writings are somewhat
voluminous and not without merit--she was comparatively unimportant; her
great service to letters was the result of the sympathy and encouragement
she gave to others.

Wherever she might be, she was the centre of a literary and religious
circle, as well as of the society in which she moved. She was in full
sympathy with her brother in making his "_Collège_" an institution in