Antoine, Louis and Mathieu Le Nain Giclée Art Prints Gallery 1 of 2

The three Le Nain brothers - Antoine (c.1595/1600-1648), Louis (c.1595/1600-1648) and Mathieu (1607-1677) - settled in Paris in 1629 and were very soon successful. In 1648 they were among the first artists to become members of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. They undoubtedly worked in constant collaboration and left a number of signed works without ever noting a first name. Their works are linked by the unity of their subjects, interpreted in a realistic spirit. Religious paintings (quite a few of which have disappeared) and a few rare mythological canvases secured them, with their arrival in Paris, numerous commissions, such as the decoration of the Chapel of the Holy Virgin in "Saint-Germain-des-Prés", destroyed during the Revolution. The portraits, highly prized by clients, also contributed to the artists' popularity. They followed the Dutch tradition and distinguished themselves especially for their group portraits, which they turned into genre scenes (Soldiers smoking in a in interior, 1643).

However, the fame of the Le Nain brothers is mainly due to their subjects and interiors with peasants. Their works stand out for their accurate rendering of forms and often for their contrast, their intimate and simple composition, their vivid focus on the gaze, their elegant draughtsmanship, and their colouring, in which browns and greys predominate, emphasised by a few bright touches. Far from the picturesque and the burlesque, the world of these peasants is deep and silent.