Nicolas Mignard was born in Troyes (Champagne district, France) where he studied painting with a local artist before going to Fontainebleau to copy the Mannerist frescoes there. His first recorded work was a fresco in a Provence convent in 1633. In 1635 he moved to Rome with the Cardinal Archbishop of Lyon.
He returned to Avignon to paint altarpieces for houses and churches. While in Avignon he married, and his work while living there gave him the nickname "Mignard d'Avignon".
in 1660 Mignard was commissioned by the French court to paint portraits of the courtiers. After attracting the attention of King Louis XIV, he was sent to Paris to work as a portrait painter and to decorate one of the rooms in the palace. He joined the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture and became a professor.
The set on the right are all semi-postals for the benefit of French Red Cross. All of the original art works belong to the Calcet Museum, Avignon, France.
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Top row:
France 1968. "Spring", and France 1969. "Summer". -
Bottom row:
France 1968: "Autumn" and France 1969. "Winter".
