French poet and fabulist whose verse fables, satirizing human folly, vanity, and self-importance through animal allegory, remain a cornerstone of French literature and moral instruction.
Jean de La Fontaine, by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1680
Hyacinthe Rigaud / Musée Carnavalet
· Public domain
Jean de La Fontaine, engraving by Augustin de Saint-Aubin, 1801
Augustin de Saint-Aubin / The Metropolitan Museum of Art
· CC0
