( fl c. 1650–70). Painter, active in Paris. The pictures now given to this artist were formerly attributed to the Le Nain brothers. In 1922 Jamot pointed out the differences of inspiration and style, compared with the work of the Le Nain, of a number of works now classed under this heading. It was left to Thuillier (see exh. cat.) to isolate a distinct artistic personality and body of work, which he collected under the name of the ‘Maître aux Béguins’, a reference to the type of peasant bonnet (béguin) worn by many of the female figures in these paintings. The 20 or so pictures attributed to this Master, which to judge by their often prestigious provenance were highly prized in the 17th century and the 18th, are almost all outdoor rustic genre scenes. They include Peasants by a Drinking Trough (versions Paris, Louvre; U. Glasgow, Hunterian A.G.), Mother Nursing her Child during the Grape Harvest (Cleveland, OH, Mus. A.), Peasant Family with a Ram (Princeton U., NJ, A. Mus.) and Village Scene (Moscow, Pushkin Mus. F.A.). The compositions of these works are somewhat repetitive: the figures are usually grouped before a fragment of rustic architecture, with a glimpse of landscape beyond. These backgrounds give little sense of depth or reality. The figures are scrupulously delineated, but their expressions are stereotyped. The greater emphasis is placed on the picturesque description of costume and accessories. The latter, composed of dishes, pots, baskets or fruit and vegetables, often form still-life compositions in the foregrounds. A painting of Charity (New York, Met.), with stylistic and formal affinities to the foregoing paintings inspired by the Le Nain, presents a different type of subject-matter, perhaps derived from a theatrical performance, since the male figure in this obscure scene has the air of a portrait. It would seem to indicate that this Master may have tackled a wider variety of subjects. The realism of the figural and still-life elements and the heaviness of the features of many of the figures suggest that the Master of the Béguins was a Flemish painter who took up the type of painting made fashionable by the Le Nain. Martin has identified him with Abraham Willemsens ( fl 1627–72) by means of comparison with a signed genre scene (sold London, Christie’s, 19 April 1991, lot 90).

Part of the Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists family