1612 -1695 · Troyes, Rome, Paris and court of Louis XIV

Elegant grace, luminous skin tones and court majesty make Pierre Mignard one of the great painters of the reign of Louis XIV.

Pierre Mignard was born in Troyes in 1612 and died in Paris in 1695. Trained in France, notably in the community of Simon Vouet, he stayed more than twenty years in Italy from 1635. In Rome, where he was soon nicknamed the Roman, he studied Raphaël, Annibal Carracci, color and the art of grand decor. Recalled to France by Louis XIV in 1657, Mignard established himself as a court portraitist and as a rival to Charles Le Brun. His Virgins, so famous that they were called cuties, combine the softness of the skin tones, the elegance of the gesture and an accessible feeling. The Virgin and Child with the young Saint John the Baptist orders views in harmonious intimacy. Jesus on the way to Calvary gives the sacred story has measured gravity. The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple deploys architecture, procession and light, while The Virgin in the Cluster concentrates the tender exchange around the symbolic fruit. Mignard also created vast decorations, notably the dome of Val-de-Grâce, and painted sovereigns, writers and great ladies in a formula which unites resemblance and ideal. After the death of Le Brun in 1690, he became First Painter to the King and Director of the Royal Academy in a formula which united resemblance and ideal. After the death of Le Brun in 1690, he became First Painter to the King and Director of the Royal Academy. After the death of Le Brun in 1690, he became First Painter to the King and director of the Royal Academy. His decorations for Versailles, Saint-Cloud and Val-de-Grâce, like his portraits of Louis XIV and Molière, gave the Grand Siècle a face that was both official, attractive and deeply human. The selection " Pierre Mignard notably compares The Virgin and Child with the young Saint John the Baptist and Jesus on the road to Calvary. His reading favors drawing.

Mignard unites majesty and gentleness: the pose affirms rank, the light caresses the flesh and the gesture transforms the pageantry into presence.