Alain Thomas (b. 1942) is a French painter and illustrator born in Nantes. A self-taught artist associated with the naïve tradition, he is identified by the Bibliothèque nationale de France as a leading representative of painting described as “naïve-primitive.” The art reference dictionary Le Delarge connects his work with both early Flemish painting and Eastern mannerist traditions.

Alongside his painting, Thomas has developed a documented practice in book illustration. His illustrations accompany editions of Les Contes des mille et une nuits and Hans Christian Andersen’s La Reine des Neiges. He also contributed miniatures to a 1987 edition of Le livre de Marco Polo, extending his work into the illustrated presentation of literature and travel narrative.

Birds form another documented subject within his published work. Toucans d’Alain Thomas appeared in 2000 with text by Jacques Cuisin, followed in 2008 by Les oiseaux d’Amérique du Sud, with texts by Cuisin and a preface by Christian Erard. These publications establish an ornithological strand within a practice encompassing painting, illustration, and the illustrated book.