Jean de Dinteville

Jean de Dinteville, etching by Wenceslaus Hollar (1647), after Hans Holbein

Jean de Dinteville (born September 21, 1504 in Thenneliere near Troyes , † March 23, 1555 in Polisy ) was a French nobleman and diplomat who, according to the research of the historian Mary Hervey, on the famous and much interpreted painting The Ambassadors (1533) by Hans Holbein is pictured.

Origin and youth

Dinteville came from the French hereditary nobility. The family tree goes back to the Middle Ages. The name is originally derived from a dominion in Champagne after which an ancestor, Pierre de Jaucourt, named himself in the 14th century. His second son Jean settled in Polisy south of Troyes in 1321. Jean de Dinteville's grandfather Claude served the Burgundian Duke Charles the Bold as Minister of Finance (Surintendant de Finance) and fell at his side in the Battle of Nancy on January 5, 1477.

Jean Dinteville was the third son of Gaucher de Dinteville, Lord of Polisy and administrator of Troyes and Anne du Plessis. Presumably Jean, like his eldest brother François, studied the Seven Liberal Arts at Paris University . The father held several offices in Paris at the royal court, which grew from around 300 to over 500 members in just a few years. When his father was first steward (Premier Maître d'Hotel) of the heir to the throne François (later Francis I ), Jean was already serving as cupbearer (Echanson) for the royal children (1521-1524). In 1520 Jean followed his father as royal administrator (Bailly) of Troyes, and in 1527 he became governor of Bar-sur-Seine . In this role he was also the monarch's representative for the region in question and was responsible for order and security. Judicial powers, however, were already in the hands of other officials at that time. After the death of his father in 1531, Jean officially became the master of Polisy. Presumably, in place of his father, he became a member of the Order of Michael at the same time, whose chain and medallion he wears on Holbein's painting.

Jean spent most of the time at court, where he undoubtedly met his future friend Georges de Selve, with whom he was portrayed by Holbein. In Paris, Dinteville probably also sought contact with the humanists, above all the renowned theologian, lawyer and Bible translator Lefèvre d'Etaples (1450 or 1455–1536), who was possibly educator of the Duke of Angoulême from 1526 through Jean's mediation. worked under the patronage of Francis I and corresponded with Erasmus of Rotterdam . In any case, experts claim to have discovered references to Lefèvre's views and doctrines in Holbein's picture. Although many humanists interest in the principle Reformation of Martin Luther had the Dintevilles liberal Catholics remained. Jean was a proven expert on astronomy and mathematics and was enthusiastic about technical innovations such as a new type of compass.

Diplomatic missions in England

Jean de Dinteville, etching by Jean Clouet, ca.1533

In 1531 Jean was in London for the first time on the diplomatic mandate of the king, a year later he was probably present at the meeting of Francis I and Henry VIII in Calais . At the age of 29, he briefly became French ambassador to the court of Henry VIII from the beginning of February to November 18, 1533. Politically, the post was quite explosive, because shortly before, on January 25, 1533, Henry VIII secretly had Anne Boleyn got married. France tacitly accepted this highly controversial marriage and stood on the side of England against the Habsburgs. Secretly, however, the French King Franz I asked Heinrich to obtain the consent of Pope Clement VII . According to a handwritten letter to his brother François, Jean did not feel happy on his mission in London. After only three months he longed to return to France, was disappointed that the falconry he loved played no role at the English court, suffered from colds, Henry's volcanic temperament because of the cool, rainy weather and complained about his high expenses, etc. . a. for the upcoming coronation of Anne Boleyn on June 1, 1533. Presumably he is wearing the opulent clothes in the painting The Ambassadors that he had put on for the occasion. At the same time, Jean informed his brother, who was residing in Rome at the Vatican, about the difficult situation after Henry's marriage and was ultimately relieved that François, contrary to the original intention of the French court, did not have to advertise Henry's position to the Pope.

Holbein's double portrait of Jean de Dinteville and his friend Georges de Selves , who at the time was bishop of Lavaur (Tarn) on a top secret mission to reform the Catholic Church, was probably made in London for a few weeks, probably in April or May 1533 . In any case, Dinteville wrote a letter to his brother asking him to keep the information about the meeting with de Selves confidential. Art historians date the depicted scene to Good Friday, April 11, 1533. The numerous objects depicted are intended in part to indicate the diplomatic situation and educational background of Dinteville and de Selves. The rule of Polisy is recognizable on the globe. Dinteville took the picture with him when he left England for Polisy, where it remained until the middle of the 17th century.

In 1534/35 Jean concentrated on his work for the Duke of Angoulême in Paris . In September / October 1535 he was once again entrusted with a delicate task in London: he was supposed to sound out whether Heinrich was willing to pay for the French mediator role in the Vatican. That was not the case. In the following spring of 1536 Jean returned to England for a short time in order to win Henry as an ally of France in the war against Spain. This commission also failed, as did the plan to promote a Franco-English marriage policy. In 1537 Jean was active in London for the last time. This time he was supposed to warn Heinrich of looming rebellions that were being fomented by the Vatican .

Exile and death

In the years that followed, the Dinteville family suffered from court intrigues, the increasingly sharp contrast between King Francis I and the heir to the throne, who later became Henry II, and at times came under suspicion of a conspiracy. Jean had to emigrate to Venice with his brothers and, despite many efforts, was not able to return to France until 1547, when Henry II took the throne.

Jean de Dinteville had the family seat, shaped by the building craze of the Renaissance , extensively renovated and expanded by Italian craftsmen. He died in 1555 after years of severe paralysis, unmarried and with no offspring. His friend Georges de Selve did not get old either: he passed away in 1541 at the age of only 32. Dinteville's heir was his last surviving brother, Guillaume, Herr von Deschenetz. He was made Bailly of Troyes and died four years later.

family

Jean's brother and patron, François II, who was also very artistic, had become Bishop of Auxerre through royal protection, but because of this he got into a conflict with parliament and had to leave France temporarily to avoid legal disputes. As ambassador to Rome, he was inevitably concerned with the delicate marriage matters of Henry VIII. The brother Guillaume (1505-1559) proved himself as a skilled diplomat and officer, temporarily served the Dauphin and went with another brother, Gaucher (1509-1550), who was assigned to the Duke of Orleans, to Italy, where Gaucher 1538 after one Had to flee charges of homosexuality. The brothers were only allowed to return to France (temporarily) in 1542, partly because Guillaume and Gaucher were urgently needed as officers in the war against Spain. The king even visited her in Polisy as a token of his favor, but the reconciliation did not last long. The brother Louis de Dinteville died in Malta in 1532 at the age of only 28 as a Knight of the Order of St. John .

literature

• Marcella Baur-Callwey: The differentiation of the common. Male double portraits from Hans Holbein the Younger to Joshua Reynolds , Munich 2007.
• Foister, Susan, Roy, Ashok, Wyld, Martin: Holbein's "The Ambassadors": Making and Meaning , London 1997
• Pascal Griener / Oskar Bätschmann: Hans Holbein , London 1997.
• Rose-Marie and Rainer Hagen: What Great Paintings say, Volume 1 , Cologne 2003.
• Hervey, Mary Frederica Sophia: Holbein's "Ambassadors". The picture and the men , London 1900.
• Ian Murray: Jean de Dinteville [1]

Web links

• Jean de Dinteville biography on globemakers.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Andrew Graham-Dixon: Renaissance , Berkeley / Los Angeles, 1999, p. 308
2. ^ Andrew Graham-Dixon: Renaissance , Berkeley / Los Angeles, 1999, p. 309