Le Nain brothers
Le Nain brothers
The three Le Nain brothers were painters in 17th-century France: Antoine Le Nain, Louis Le Nain, and Mathieu Le Nain. They produced genre works, portraits and portrait miniatures.
In 1648 the three brothers were received into the Académie de peinture et de sculpture on the year of its founding.
Because of the similarity of their styles of painting and the difficulty of distinguishing works by each brother (they signed their paintings only with their surname, and many may have been collaborations), they are commonly referred to as a single entity, Le Nain. Louis is usually credited with the best-known of their paintings, a series of scenes depicting peasant life.
The brothers also produced miniatures and portraits. Mathieu became the official painter (Peintre Ordinaire) of Paris in 1633, and much later was made a chevalier. Among his sitters for portraits were Marie de Medici and Cardinal Mazarin, but these works seem to have disappeared.
| Date and place of birt: | Laon, France |
|---|---|
| Date and place of death: | Paris, France |
| Nationality: | France |
| Period of activity: | XVII century |
| Specialization: | Artist, Painter |
| Genre: | Genre art, Portrait, Religious genre |
| Art style: | Baroque, Old Masters |
