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	Le Brun, Charles (b Paris, bapt 24 Feb 1619; d Paris, 12 Feb 1690). French painter and designer. He dominated 17th-century French painting as no other artist; it was not until over a century later, during the predominance of Jacques-Louis David, that artistic authority was again so concentrated in one man. Under the protection of a succession of important political figures, including Chancellor Pierre Séguier, Cardinal Richelieu and Nicolas Fouquet, Le Brun created a series of masterpieces of history and religious painting. For Louis XIV and his chief minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert he executed his greatest work, the royal palace of Versailles: an almost perfect ensemble of architecture, decoration and landscape. After Colbert’s death in 1683, he was no longer able to count on prestigious commissions and, apart from finishing the decoration of Versailles, he concentrated on smaller-scale religious painting.
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	Le Brun, Charles Caffiéri: (2) Jacques Caffiéri Classicism, §4: Renaissance to 17th century Colbert: (1) Jean-Baptiste Colbert Colour, §I, 2: Western world, 17th century to mid-19th: Rubénisme to Romanticism Disegno e colore, §3: 17th–19th-century England and France France, §II, 3(ii): Louis XIV style architecture, c 1660–c 1700 France, §XI, 1(iv): Tapestry, 1658–1800 France, §XII, 3: Patronage: 16th and 17th centuries Gobelins, §1: Introduction Gobelins, §4: Other Le Brun, Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Maison du Roi, §II, 3: Organization of the Bâtiments du Roi, from 1664 Maison du Roi, §III: Menus Plaisirs du Roi Maison du Roi, §IV: Garde Meuble de la Couronne Paris, §III, 2: Art life and organization, 1500–1714 Paris, §VI, 1(i): Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture: Origins and development Paris, §VI, 1(ii): Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture: Education Rome, §VI: Accademia di S Luca architecture Marly, château of Paris, §V, 6(ii): Palais du Louvre: Post-medieval Staircase, §I, 4: Baroque and Rococo Vaux-le-Vicomte arches Hallé: (1) Daniel Hallé screens (i) (architectural) Tuby, Jean assistants Genoels, Abraham, II Gobelins, §2: Tapestry Marsy Audran, Claude, II (1639-84) Audran: (1) Claude Audran II Boullogne, Bon Boullogne: (2) Bon Boullogne Houasse, René-Antoine Houasse: (1) René-Antoine Houasse Houzeau, Jacques Houzeau, Jacques Jouvenet, Jean Jouvenet, Jean, §1: Early career, to 1694 Verdier, François Verdier, François Vuez, Arnould de Vuez, Arnould de collaboration Bourdon, Sébastien Bourdon, Sébastien, §2: Paris, Stockholm and Montpellier, from 1637 Le Vau, Louis Château, §3: Baroque, Rococo and Academic Classicism Garden, §VIII, 4(ii)(b): André Le Nôtre and late 17th-century French garden design, 1656–c 1700 Le Vau: (1) Louis Le Vau, §4: Under Colbert, after 1663 Palace, §II, 3: Baroque and Rococo Stucco and plasterwork, §III, 10(i)(b): Western world, 1400–1850: France Meulen, Adam Frans van der Meulen, Adam Frans van der Monnoyer, Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer, Jean-Baptiste Perrault, Claude Perrault: (2) Claude Perrault, §1: Colonnade Sève, Gilbert de and Pierre de Sève, Gilbert de competitions Competition, §I, 2: Architecture, 1600–1799 copies Nattier: (2) Jean-Marc Nattier dealing France, §XIII, 3: Collecting and dealing: 17th century drawings Guichard, Joseph Modello, §I: Drawn furniture France, §VI, 2(ii): Furniture, 1589–1715: Louis XIV style France, §IX, 1(iii)(a): Gold and silver: 17th-century forms and styles Throne, §II, 2(ii): Europe, after c 1500: Secular gardens Mazeline, Pierre groups and movements Louis XIV style Poussinisme interior decoration Cabinet (i), §4(ii): Mirror Cucci, Domenico Display of art, §II, 2: Paintings, c 1500–c 1700 Display of art, §III, 2(iv): Sculpture, c 1500–c 1700 France, §II, 3(i): Classicist architecture, c 1600–c 1660 France, §V, 2: Interior decoration, 1589–1660 France, §V, 3: Interior decoration, 1661–1722 Illusionism, §2(i)(b): Large-scale projects, c 1600–c 1700 Le Vau: (1) Louis Le Vau, §3: Mature work, 1654–63 Orbay, François d’ Ornament and pattern, §II, 4(ii): Western Baroque: France Overdoor Vaux-le-Vicomte, §1: Buildings Versailles stucco Girardon, François, §1: Early stuccowork and sculpture for Versailles paintings allegorical Versailles, §1(ii): Château, after 1677 battle Battle pictures and military scenes, §2(i): The 17th century to the late 18th: Land warfare oil sketches Oil sketch portraits France, §III, 3(i): Painting & graphic arts, c 1620–c 1715: Mannerism & the influence of Caravaggio France, §III, 3(iii): Painting & graphic arts, c 1620–c 1715: Royal patronage & the Académie Royale religious May of Notre-Dame de Paris wall Versailles, §1(i): Château, 1623–77 patrons and collectors Boulle, André-Charles Boulle, André-Charles Clève, Corneille van (1646-1732) Clève, Corneille van Colebrooke, George Colebrooke, George Fouquet, Nicolas Fouquet, Nicolas Girardon, François Girardon, François, §4: Collecting Henry, Bon-Thomas Henry, Bon-Thomas Hesselin, Louis(-Cauchon) Hesselin, Louis Jabach, Everard Jabach, Everard, §3: Later life and second collection, after 1671 John VI, King of Portugal (reg 1816-26) Brazil, §X: Patronage, collecting and dealing Jouin, Henry(-Auguste) Jouin, Henry Lambert, Nicolas Lambert: (2) Nicolas Lambert Louis XIV, King of France (reg 1643-1715) Bourbon, §I: (8) Louis XIV, King of France, §4: Painting, graphic arts and manuscripts Bourbon, §I: (8) Louis XIV, King of France, §3: Sculpture, engraved gems, coins and medals Spencer, Robert, 2nd Earl of Sunderland (1641-1702) Spencer: (1) Robert Spencer prints Langlois, François pupils Carrey, Jacques Corneille (i): (2) Michel Corneille (ii) Dieu, Antoine Dorigny: (2) Louis Dorigny Duplessis, Joseph-Siffred Kerseboom: (1) Friedrich Kerseboom La Fosse, Charles de, §1: Training and first decorative commissions Laguerre, Louis Lefèbvre, Claude Silvestre (i): (2) Louis de Silvestre reproductions in hardstones Gem-engraving, §I, 12: Western, after 1800 reproductions in tapestry Revel, Gabriel reproductive prints by others Expression, §1(i): Western: Expression as representation Ficquet, Etienne Poilly, de Reproduction of works of art, §2(i): 15th–17th centuries Simonneau Audran, Benoît, I (1661-1721) Audran: (4) Benoît Audran I Audran, Girard Audran: (2) Girard Audran Audran, Jean Audran: (5) Jean Audran Aveline, Pierre(-Alexandre) (1702-60) Aveline: (2) Pierre Aveline Collignon, François Collignon, François Dupuis, Nicolas-Gabriel Dupuis, Nicolas-Gabriel Gautier-Dagoty, Edouard Gautier-Dagoty Habert, Nicolas Habert, Nicolas Huret, Grégoire Huret, Grégoire Kilian, Georg Kilian: (5) Georg Kilian Kilian, Georg Christoph Kilian: (6) Georg Christoph Kilian Lasne, Michel Lasne, Michel Leclerc, Sébastien (i) (1637-1714) Leclerc: (1) Sébastien Leclerc (i) Mariette, Jean Mariette: (3) Jean Mariette Masson, Antoine Masson, Antoine Picart, Bernard (1673-1733) Picart: (2) Bernard Picart Piles, Roger de Piles, Roger de Rousselet, Gilles Rousselet, Gilles Schuppen, Pierre-Louis van Schuppen, Pierre-Louis van Simon, Pierre (c. 1650-1710) Simon, Pierre Tardieu, Nicolas-Henry Tardieu, Nicolas-Henry Tocqué, Louis Tocqué, Louis sculpture France, §IV, 3: Sculpture, c 1600–c 1700 garden Legros: (1) Pierre Legros Regnaudin, Thomas Versailles, §2: Gardens religious Poultier, Jean statuettes Statuette, §II, 2(ii): Renaissance and Baroque: France tapestries Boel, Pieter England, §V, 3: Interior decoration, c 1660–1720 England, §XI, 1(ii): Tapestry, 1590–1720 Orléans, House of: (1) Philippe I, §1: Saint-Cloud and the Palais-Royal Perrault: (3) Charles Perrault Tapestry, §II, 3: 1621–1700 Testelin: (2) Henri Testelin teachers Perrier, François theories Science and art, §3(ii): Representation in science: Anatomy, physiognomy and medicine writings Academy, §5: Academic ideals versus practical concerns Art criticism, §2: As a historical practice Decorum Descartes, René Gesture, §1: Expressive gestures Music and art, §2: 17th and 18th centuries Poussin, Nicolas, §IV: Critical reception and posthumous reputation Treatise, §II, 4: Painting, 17th and 18th centuries: Baroque and Neo-classicism

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