BIARD (BYARD, BIART), French family of artists
Colin [Nicolas] de Biard (1460-after 1515) was a master mason, belonging to the group of artists from the Loire region who were responsible for the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance style. His son was Noël Biard (active 1551-1570), a master carpenter who worked at the Palais du Louvre, Paris (1551-68), and the château de Fontainebleau (1568-70). Pierre Biard the Elder (1559-1609), the son of Noël, was, with Mathieu Jacquet, the most important French-born sculptor active in France in the last years of the 16th century. His son Pierre Briard the Younger (1592-1661) was a sculptor and engraver.
