Nicolas Froment

French painter

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History

Nicolas Froment (flourished 1450–90, in the south of France) was a French painter who shared the responsibility (with Enguerrand Charonton) for introducing Flemish naturalism into French art.

During the 15th century, Italian art was so admired in France that the works of French artists were ignored or disdained. In response, Froment and Charonton around 1450 set up their own school in Avignon, where they formed the core of the realists of the school of primitive artists of Provence. Although many of their works were in demand at the time, they were neglected afterward.

Froment stands out among his colleagues for his rather crude and unpolished style, marked by awkward design and lack of sensitivity to colour. Nonetheless, many appreciated his revolutionary art, which introduced the often macabre Flemish style into French painting, as can be seen in his Resurrection of Lazarus (1461). The Burning Bush (1475–76), which illustrates his application of the Flemish style to the legends and landscape of Provence, is perhaps Froment’s most illustrious work. The painting was done for King René of Anjou and depicts the king and his wife with several saints.