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In certain respects the heads of the two recumbent figures are classical; in particular that of Louis XII is like the well-known heads of the Emperor Augustus. But the traces of French Gothic are strong. The lines of the eyes have a sweetness to be found in French fifteenth-century painting; and, by contrast, the grimness of Late Gothic sculpture can be seen in certain naturalistic details, particularly the rendering of the incisions and stitching made in the process of embalming the bodies. The naturalistic treatment of the open mouth showing the teeth, and the hollowing out of the cheeks reminds one in some respects of French fifteenth-century portraiture as it can be seen in the head of the donor in the Avignon Pietà.
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