Jacques Saillant (1608 – 1678): A Painter of Dignified Portraits Jacques de Chevanes, better known as Jacques Saillant, was a French Capuchin polemicist and artist born in Autun around 1608. Though primarily remembered for his theological writings—particularly his spirited defense of the Catholic faith against Protestant criticisms—Saillant’s artistic output reveals a talent for capturing the grandeur and solemnity of aristocratic portraiture during the Baroque period. His life was marked by intellectual fervor and religious devotion, shaping both his personal convictions and his artistic se…