Biography

Nicolas de Largillière (Largillierre) was born in Paris but passed his youth in Antwerp and, from c. 1674, spent some years in England as Lely's assistant. He was thus almost a Flemish painter when he returned to Paris in 1682. He became a member of the Academy in 1686 and ultimately its Director. His principal rival was Rigaud, but Largillière specialized in portraits of the wealthy middle classes, leaving the aristocrats to Rigaud. There are typical examples in London (National Gallery and Wallace Collection), New York (Metropolitan Museum), and Paris (Louvre). The S. Geneviève (Paris, S. Étienne) is the only survivor of the large ex-voto type of picture that he painted for the Corporations. He also painted a few pictures of still-life.