Pierre Rabon

Pierre Rabon (18 October 1619 – 18 January 1684) was a French portrait painter, who was active during the reign of Louis XIV.

Early life
Rabon was born in Le Havre.

Career
Rabon became a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture on 3 July 1660. His reception piece was a portrait of Antoine de Ratabon, who at the time was both Superintendent of Buildings (Surintendant des Bâtiments) and the director of the Académie. His portrait of Ratabon was for a long time believed to have been lost, but in 1994, a painting in the collection of the Château de Versailles, which had previously been identified by Albert Laprade as a portrait of the architect Louis Le Vau, was proposed as more likely to be Rabon's portrait of Ratabon.

Rabon exhibited a portrait of a Monsieur Perier at the Paris Salon of 1673. His other works include Portrait of a Woman (private collection) and three other portraits known from engravings: Claude Gallard, Councillor at the Parlement, engraved by Jean-Baptiste Humbelot; Louis Roupert, Master Goldsmith at Metz, engraved by Louis Cossin; and Hyacinthe Serroni, Archbishop of Albi, engraved by Gantrel. There are also records of copies commissioned by the Bâtiments du Roi: Christ on the Cross after Charles Le Brun in 1667 for the Menagerie at Versailles and Equestrian portrait of Louis XIV after Mignard in 1671.

In 2000, the painting Saint John Preaching in the Desert (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Carcassonne), previously believed to be a work by Sébastien Bourdon, was reattributed to Pierre Rabon.

Personal life
Pierre Rabon married Louise Gomboust on 29 October 1643. Their son, Nicolas Rabon (1644–1686), became a history painter. Pierre Rabon died in Paris.