ABSTRACT
Jacques potentially used the biographical similarities between himself and the early French saint to strengthen his bid for the archbishopric. The art patronage of Guillaume Jouvenel des Ursins, the Chancellor of France under Charles VII – in particular his panel portrait by Jean Fouquet – is well recognized and represented in art historical literature. The members of the Jouvenel des Ursins family can be considered the noblesse de robe – those of merchant-class backgrounds who quickly achieved noble status through their appointment to key positions in the French government. Words were not enough, and in addition to textually supporting their newfound status by directly writing themselves into the official history of France, the Jouvenel des Ursins family also deftly used visual culture to further support their position. Members of the new nobility, such as the Jouvenel des Ursins family, adopted this alternate public function for devotional manuscripts.
