(Fig. 1) The combination of landscape and beautiful women characterizes the distinctive style of the French Fontainebleau School—Proserpine by Francesco Primaticcio (Dell'Abate), c. 1570, 215x196 cm, Louvre Museum, Paris. (Fig. 2) Diana Bathing by Jean Cousin, c. 1560, 133x192 cm, Rouen Museum, France.

The French Fontainebleau School emerged in the sixteenth century when King Francis I invited many renowned Italian artists to decorate his magnificent Palace of Fontainebleau; Leonardo da Vinci was among the most famous. Centered around the palace, this artistic movement was pioneered by Italian artists such as Rosso Fiorentino, Primaticcio, and Niccolò dell'Abate, forming a decorative art for royal palaces that showcased the exquisite beauty of nude figures within grand themes of mythology and allegory.