Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Le Prince was an important French etcher and painter. Le Prince first studied painting techniques in his native Metz. He then travelled to Paris around 1750 after being sponsored by Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet de Belle-Isle and became a leading student of the great painter, François Boucher. Le Prince's early paintings in both theme and style are comparable to his master's rococo techniques. He was the half-brother of French author Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.