(b Saint-Mihiel, Lorraine, bapt June 4, 1640; d Paris, Jan 24, 1711).
French designer, ornamentalist and engraver. The Berain family moved to Paris c. 1644. Berain’s father, also called Jean Berain, and his uncle Claude Berain were master gunsmiths. In 1659 Berain published a series of designs for the decoration of arms, Diverses pièces très utiles pour les arquebuzières, reissued in 1667. In 1662 he engraved for the guild of locksmiths a series of designs by Hugues Brisville (b 1633), Diverses inventions nouvelles pour des armoiries avec leurs ornements. It would seem that by this date Berain’s skill as an engraver was well known. Around 1667 he decorated and signed a hunting gun (Stockholm, Livrustkam.; see Arms and armour §II 2., (iii)) for Louis XIV, which probably served as his introduction to the court. Through the influence and support of Charles Le Brun, in 1670 Berain was employed by the crown as an engraver. In January 1671 he received 400 livres in payment for two engravings (Paris, Bib. N., Cab. Est.) recording the ceiling decoration by Le Brun of the Galerie d’Apollon in the Louvre, Paris, for which he also designed the painted stucco grotesques. In ...