Charles V, King of France from 1364 to 1380, and his wife Jeanne de Bourbon. King of the Valois dynasty.
Charles V and his wife Jeanne de Bourbon, the first statue of a French king taken from life. At the age of 27, king Charles V (known as the Wise and a great patron of the arts) commissioned his funerary statue from André Beauneveu, one of the most celebrated sculptors of the age. This is doubtless the first official portrait in the history of funerary statuary and is one of the finest masterpieces of medieval sculpture.
The recumbent statue of Jeanne de Bourbon is the only example of an entrail recumbent in the Basilica of Saint-Denis. It can be recognized by the small bag carved into the figure's left hand. This recumbent was brought from the Célestins convent in Paris after the French Revolution, as the recumbent of Jeanne de Bourbon's body made for Saint-Denis had been destroyed.
Recumbent statues of Charles V and Jeanne de Bourbon.
Pascal Lemaître - Centre des monuments nationaux
Discover also the recumbent tomb of Charles VI, son of Charles V and Jeanne de Bourbon.
![Basilica of St Denis]({"src": "Local/basilica/images/header_opti_sm.jpg", "width" : 400})
