In 1667, Abraham and his brother Jean were naturalised as French citizens. The brothers followed courses offered by the Académie Royale de peinture but on 29 November 1670 one of them was expelled for "voies de fait" (assault). Both boys ceased attending the courses, though a year later, in 1671, each won a prize at the salon exhibition in the Palais du Louvre. Abraham achieved a "huitième prix" (eighth prize) for a painting entitled "Louis XIV donnant la paix a L’europe"; a canvas which celebrated the end of the war of devolution achieved by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668).