Jean I Pénicaud, born circa 1480, was the younger brother of Nardon Pénicaud, the founder of a Limoges dynasty of enamelers, who made his will in 1541. Eight enamels signed by him are known. He introduced German and Netherlandish prints at Limoges as models for enameled plaques, and was the last in Limoges not to surrender totally to the new Italianizing fashion diffused from Fontainebleau in the fourth decade of the sixteenth century. His technique remained the same as that of the Master of the Triptych of Louis XII, without the subtleties of the latter in the preparation of flesh tones. He was also the last master to keep as counterenamels fired opaque enamel powders, although a transparent flux for counterenameling was used in the Pénicaud workshop. He died sometime after 1541. [This is an edited version of the artist's biography published in the NGA Systematic Catalogue]
Artist Bibliography
1907
Edited by Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker. Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, 26:379.
1967
Verdier 1967, xix-xx.
1993
Distelberger, Rudolf, Alison Luchs, Philippe Verdier, and Timonthy H. Wilson. Western Decorative Arts, Part I: Medieval, Renaissance, and Historicizing Styles including Metalwork, Enamels, and Ceramics. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1993: 87.