La Madeleine, Louis Le Nain, 1625

Le Nain brothers, three brothers best known for their paintings of peasant life. The work of Antoine Le Nain (b. c. 1588, Laon, France—d. May 25, 1648, Paris), Louis Le Nain (b. c. 1600, Laon, France—d. May 23, 1648, Paris), and Mathieu Le Nain (b. 1607, Laon, France—d. April 20, 1677, Paris)

There are indications that sometime between 1626 and 1630, Louis must have gone to Rome, for the influence of the Netherlandish artists painting in Rome at the time, the Bamboccianti, or painters of small low-life scenes, particularly that of Pieter van Laer, is strong, as is that of Orazio Gentileschi.