Artists
Pierre Mignard
- Country:
- France
- Birth year:
- 1612
- Death year:
- 1695
Pierre Mignard (1612 Troyes-1695 Paris) studied painting first under Francois Boucher in Bourges, and later with Simon Bouet in Paris. In 1636 he went to Rome, where he remained for 21 years, taking a journey to Bologna, parma, and Modena in 1654. Mignard, who had won respect in Italy for his portraits and Madonnas, finally returned to Paris in 1671 by way of Avignon. In time he took over the position of his rival, Charles Le Brun, and advanced to the leading portrait painter at the court of Ludwig XIV (1638-1715). He painted portraits of the king and his relatives and, commissioned by the queen mother in 1663, he painted the dome of the Parisian church Val-de-Grace together with Charles-Alphonse Dufrenoy. As premier paintre du Roi ("first painter to the king"). Mignard was also director of the Academie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture and the royal painting cabinet. Among his works are the Carrying of the Cross, 1684, Musee du Louvre, Paris, Self-Portrait 1690, Musee du Louvre, Paris; and The marquise of Seignelay and her Childeren, 1691, National Gallery London.