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Abraham Mignon

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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Abraham Nicolas Amelot de La Houssaye

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ABRAHAM MIGNON (1640-1697), Dutch painter, was born at Frankfort. His father, a merchant, placed him under the still-life painter Jacob Merrel, by whom he was taken to Holland about 1660. He then worked under de Heem at Utrecht, where in 1675 he married the daughter of the painter Cornelis Willaerts. Sibylle Merian (1647-1717), daughter of the engraver Matthew Merian, became his pupil and achieved distinction as a flower painter. He died at Wetzlar. Mignon devoted himself almost exclusively to flowers, fruit, birds and other "still life," though at times he also attempted portraiture. His flower pieces are marked by careful finish and delicate handling. His favourite scheme was to introduce red or white roses in the centre of the canvas and to set the whole group of flowers against a dark background. Nowhere can his work be seen to better advantage than at the Dresden Gallery, which contains fifteen of his paintings, twelve of which are signed. Six of his pictures are at the Louvre, four at the Hermitage, and other examples are to be found at the museums of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Brussels, Munich, Karlsruhe, Brunswick, Cassel, Schwerin, Copenhagen and Turin.