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Diane de Poitiers
1499-1566
Historical FigurePatron
The favorite of Henri II for more than twenty years, Diane de Poitiers had unmatched influence over the king and over the arts. In 1548, she was given the title Duchesse de Valentinois.
Her most iconic achievement is the Château d'Anet, which she had built by Philibert Delorme, whom she herself had appointed to oversee the king's building works.
In 1547, the king gave her the Chenonceau estate, which she embellished before being forced, upon Henri II's death, to exchange it for Chaumont-sur-Loire, by order of Catherine de Médicis.
