He was a near-contemporary of the Premier Peintre du Roi Charles Le Brun with whom he engaged in a bitter, life-long rivalry.

He was the younger brother of Nicolas, who became a painter and etcher who was mainly active in Avignon and was known as Mignard d'Avignon.

Mignard also developed his lifelong interest in portraiture at this time, and he painted portraits of subsequent popes, cardinals, and prominent members of the Italian nobility.

Following Le Brun's death in 1690, Mignard succeeded him as both director of the academy and premier peintre du Roi.

[5] His brother Nicolas and his nephew Paul, who was his pupil, had chosen the side of Le Brun against Mignard, which led to a break in their relationship.

[6] Mignard died five years later in 1695 in Paris as he was about to begin work on the cupola of Les Invalides.

His sitters included Turenne, Molière, Bossuet, Maintenon (in the Louvre), La Vallière, Sévigné, Montespan, Descartes (in Castle Howard).