Philippe de Champaigne , 1602-74, French painter, b. Brussels, of Flemish parents. In 1621 he went to Paris, where he worked with Poussin on the Luxembourg Palace. In 1628 he became painter to the queen, Marie de' Medici. For her and for Richelieu he executed many religious paintings, still to be seen in French churches, and numerous portraits. From 1640 on he became absorbed in the Jansenist movement and has been called the painter of Port-Royal. His later work is characterized by sober realism, simplicity, and austerity. His best-known paintings include his frescoes at Vincennes and in the Tuileries, his portrait of his daughter, a nun at Port-Royal (1662), and a penetrating study of Richelieu (both: Louvre). Basing his portrait style on patterns established by Rubens and Van Dyck, he rendered his subjects with an air of static majesty.
Philippe de Champaigne , 1602-74, French painter, b. Brussels, of Flemish parents. In 1621 he went to Paris, where he worked with Poussin on the Luxembourg Palace. In 1628 he became painter to the queen, Marie de' Medici. For her and for Richelieu he executed many religious paintings, still to be seen in French churches, and numerous portraits. From 1640 on he became absorbed in the Jansenist movement and has been called the painter of Port-Royal. His later work is characterized by sober realism, simplicity, and austerity. His best-known paintings include his frescoes at Vincennes and in the Tuileries, his portrait of his daughter, a nun at Port-Royal (1662), and a penetrating study of Richelieu (both: Louvre). Basing his portrait style on patterns established by Rubens and Van Dyck, he rendered his subjects with an air of static majesty.
