Claude François (Frère Luc): A Life Painted in Faith and Light Claude François, more intimately known as Frère Luc – a name bestowed upon him after his dedication to the Recollets order – stands as a compelling figure within 17th-century French art. Born in Amiens around 1614, his early life was marked by a fascination with drawing and an apprenticeship under Simon Vouet, a prominent Mannerist painter in Paris. This initial training provided him with a solid foundation, but it was his subsequent journey to Rome that truly shaped his artistic vision. There, amidst the echoes of the Old Master…