The three Le Nain brothers were painters in 17th-century France: Antoine (c.1599-1648), Louis, and Mathieu (1607–1677). They produced genre works, portraits and portrait miniatures. Because of the remarkable similarity of their styles of painting and the difficulty of distinguishing works by each brother (they signed their paintings only with their surname, and many may have been collaborations), they are commonly referred to as a single entity, Le Nain. Louis is usually credited with the best-known of their paintings, a series of scenes depicting peasant life.
