Charles Le Brun

@Artists & Painters, Facts and Facts ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Charles Le Brun was a famous French painter during 17th century French Artists & Painters Artists Miscellaneous Pisces Celebrities Charles Le Brun was a famous French painter during 17th century. Son of a sculptor, he caught the attention of Pierre Séguier, the French statesmen who later on became the chancellor of France, and Séguier placed him at the age of eleven under the tutelage of Simon Voulet, the renowned French painter. Charles Le Brun received his first commission when he was still in his teens from none other than Cardinal Richelieu and then was appointed by Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finance, to work at his estate in collaboration with Louis Le Vau and André le Nôtre. The style created by the trio became a trend and began to be known as ‘Louis XIV Style’. The style attracted the notice of King Louis XIV. Although he had Fouquet arrested on the charge of misappropriation of funds, he quickly engaged the artists and commissioned Le Brun to create a series on Alexander the Great. Pleased by the outcome, he declared Le Brun the First Painter of France and from then on every work in the royal palaces was done under his supervision. However, Le Brun was more than a great artist. He was also a great organizer and administrator. As head of a number of art academies, he left a lasting imprint on the development of art in France.

Personal Details

Birthday: February 24, 1619 Died on: February 22, 1690 Nationality: French Famous: Artists & Painters, Artists, Miscellaneous Universities: Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture Founder / Co-Founder: Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture Birth Place: Paris Information Detail Birthday February 24, 1619 Died on February 22, 1690 Nationality French Famous Artists & Painters, Artists, Miscellaneous Universities Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture Founder / Co-Founder Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture Birth Place Paris Gender Male Sun Sign Pisces Born in Paris Famous as Painter Died at Age 70

Paris

Charles Le Brun born at Unsplash Birth Place

Charles Le Brun was born on February 24, 1619, in Paris. Not much is known about his family background, except that his father, Nicolas Le Brun, was a sculptor and may have belonged to the bourgeois class. The name of his mother was Julienne Le Blé. Unsplash Childhood & Early Years

It is said that Charles was a child progeny. He first started training under Guillaume Perrier. At the age of eleven, he was spotted by Chancellor Pierre Séguier and placed under the tutelage of well known painter and draftsman Simon Vouet. Later, he also took lessons from François Perrier. Unsplash Childhood & Early Years

Charles Le Brun received his first commission when he was still in his teens. Cardinal Richeleu, an important priest cum statesman, commissioned him to draw several pictures for the Palais Cardinal in Paris. ‘Hercules and the Horses of Diomedes’ (1640) is said to be the only surviving picture from this lot. Unsplash Career

His expertise impressed leading painters like Nicolas Poussin. While going back to Rome, in 1642, Poussin took Le Brun with him. For four years, Le Brun worked under Poussin adapting various techniques from him. All along he received a generous pension from Chancellor Pierre Séguier. Unsplash Career

In addition, Le Brun also had the good fortune of receiving training under Pietro da Cortona and other famous painters of Rome. By the time he returned to Paris in 1646 he was quite well known and found number of patrons ready to commission him. Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finance, was one of them. Unsplash Career

Fouquet commissioned Le Brun and other well-known artists to renovate his estate Vaux-le-Vicomte. This was the first time when he worked on a large project with architect Louis Le Vau and the landscape architect André le Nôtre. Their partnership marked the beginning of the ‘Louis XIV style’, which combined architecture, landscaping and interior design. Unsplash Career

Sometime now, Le Burn came in contact with Cardinal Mazarin, who later succeeded Cardinal Richeleu as the Chief Minister of France. Through him, he also met Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who succeeded Fouquet as the Finance Minister. Unsplash Career

Le Brun’s work at the palace of Versailles is said to be the grandest. The Galerie des Glaces or the Great Hall of Mirrors, where he worked from 1679 to 1684 bears testimony to his genius. In this hall, he had depicted the King’s military victory directly, without going into any kind of allegory, as in the case of earlier paintings. Unsplash Major Works

Besides the Hall of Mirror, the Staircase of the Ambassadors (1674 to 1678) and Salons of Peace and War (1685 to 1686) at the Versailles also bear examples of his creative genius. In these places too he had not missed any opportunity to glorify the king. Unsplash Major Works

The Galerie d'Apollon at Louvre is another of Le Brun’s major work. While the reconstruction of the hall was carried on by Louis Le Vou between 1661 and 1663, the interior decoration was done by Le Brun between 1663 and 1667. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	February 24, 1619
Died on	February 22, 1690
Nationality	French
Famous	Artists & Painters, Artists, Miscellaneous
Universities	Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture
Founder / Co-Founder	Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture
Birth Place	Paris
Gender	Male
Sun Sign	Pisces
Born in	Paris
Famous as	Painter
Died at Age	70

Charles Le Brun

French

Feb 24, 1619

Biography

Personal Details

Paris