Charles Le Brun

Charles Le Brun (1619–1690) was a French painter and art theorist who directed the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture and led the design of Versailles’s decoration.

Louis XIV: King of France from 1643 to 1715, whose court patronage shaped French art and architecture. Le Brun’s position and major commissions depended on Louis XIV’s patronage.
Hall of Mirrors: A grand gallery in the Palace of Versailles, decorated with mirrors, marble, and paintings celebrating Louis XIV. Le Brun designed its decoration and painted its celebrated ceiling cycle.
Expression of the Passions: Le Brun’s theory of how facial features and bodily gestures represent distinct human emotions. It codified the expressive principles he applied to figures in history painting.
Palace of Versailles: A royal palace near Paris that became the principal residence and political center of Louis XIV’s court. Le Brun’s decoration helped make the palace a unified display of royal authority.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert: French statesman who served Louis XIV and directed royal economic and cultural policy. Colbert promoted Le Brun and helped place him at the head of royal artistic institutions.
Galerie d'Apollon: A decorated gallery in the Louvre whose ceiling paintings celebrate Apollo and royal power. Le Brun’s designs for this gallery anticipated themes and devices later used at Versailles.
French Academy of Painting and Sculpture: A royal institution founded in 1648 to regulate and promote painting and sculpture in France. Le Brun directed the Academy and used its teaching to shape artistic standards.
French classicism: A French artistic and literary tradition emphasizing order, clarity, restraint, and classical models. Le Brun’s academic leadership helped establish classicism as the court’s official artistic language.
André Le Nôtre: French landscape architect best known for designing the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. Le Nôtre’s gardens and Le Brun’s interiors formed complementary parts of Versailles’s royal design.
The Queens of Persia at the Feet of Alexander: A large painting by Le Brun depicting Alexander the Great’s encounter with the family of Darius III. It displays the theatrical composition and political storytelling that secured Le Brun’s reputation.

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