v. 1593 -1648 · Laon, Paris and peasant truth in the Grand Siècle

Silence, dignity of peasants and silvery light make Louis Le Nain one of the most profoundly human voices in 17th century French painting.

Louis Le Nain was born in Laon around 1593 into a family of artisans. With his brothers Antoine and Mathieu, he settled in Paris in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district before 1629. The three painters shared a workshop, often signed with the name "Le Nain" alone and still today render the delicate attributions. Their production includes portraits, religious subjects, mythologies and genre scenes, but tradition particularly recognizes Louis's great peasant scenes of the 1640s. The Peasants' Meal and Peasants' Family in an Interior do not transform poverty into a picturesque anecdote. Around a table, a loaf of bread, a pitcher or a fire, each character has a singular presence and an inner world. The muted palette, made of retained grays, earths and reds, unifies the scene; the light slides over faces and fabrics without spectacular hierarchy. Louis also addresses the sacred and allegory. The Denial of Saint Peter and Allegory of Victory show the diversity of the workshop, even when their precise attribution remains debated. Antoine and Louis became founding members of the Royal Academy in 1648, but both died the same year. Antoine and Louis became founding members of the Royal Academy in 1648, but both died the same year. Rediscovered in the 19th century, these images influenced the realists through their deep respect for workers and their refusal of emphasis. The selection "Louis Le Nain" puts particularly with regard to The Peasants' Meal and Peasants' Family in an Interior. His reading favors the story.

Louis Le Nain does not paint social types but presences: silence, bread and gaze are enough to give everyone their dignity.