(b Paris, ?1715; d Amsterdam, 19 Nov. 1683). French painter and engraver. He worked principally as a portraitist and mainly in pastel. In this medium he was overshadowed in his lifetime by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, whose style was more vivacious; however, posterity has judged the more sober but more penetrating Perronneau to be at least his equal. From about 1755 he led a wandering life, visiting England, the Netherlands several times, Italy, Poland, and Russia. He was a prolific artist and is represented in many galleries in France and elsewhere.