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| Charles Le Brun The Family of Darius before Alexander 1660 oil on canvas Château de Versailles |
"An artistic prodigy, Charles Le Brun entered the service of King Louis XIV in 1647. In 1660 he painted The Family of Darius before Alexander, which was hung in the Mars Room at Versailles a few years later and where it remains today. It earned Le Brun his reputation as a French painter of genius and his promotion in 1664 to the position of First Painter to the King. He thereafter received an increasing number of commissions and ever greater honour. At Versailles he was able to give free rein to his skills, and he created fine decorations at a quick clip. Le Brun also designed most of the statues in the park of Versailles. He was a founding member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648, and in 1663 became Manager of the Gobelins Manufactory. As such, he oversaw the creation of royal furniture, upholstery, and tapestries. As Director and theorist of the Academy, he believed that painting should arouse the intellect rather than draw the eye. His paintings closely followed Baroque colouring, as well as Classical drawing techniques."
– from curator's notes at the Château de Versailles
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| Charles Le Brun Entry of Alexander into Babylon ca. 1664 oil on canvas Musée du Louvre |
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| Charles Le Brun Mucius Scaevola before Lars Porsena before 1690 oil on canvas Musée des Ursulines de Mâcon |
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| Charles Le Brun Deification of Aeneas ca. 1642-44 oil on canvas Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal |
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| Charles Le Brun Study for Caryatid before 1690 drawing Morgan Library, New York |
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| Charles Le Brun Study for Architectural Figure before 1690 drawing Victoria & Albert Museum |
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| Charles Le Brun Apollo Bathing, attended by the Nymphs of Thetis before 1690 drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Charles Le Brun Study for Alexander ca. 1660-61 drawing Musée du Louvre |
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| Charles Le Brun Studies of a Man clinging to a Rock before 1690 drawing Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento |
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| Charles Le Brun Daedalus and Icarus ca. 1664-65 oil on canvas Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Charles Le Brun Descent from the Cross ca. 1645-50 oil on canvas Los Angeles County Museum of Art |
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| Charles Le Brun Penitent Magdalen 1655 oil on canvas Musée du Louvre |
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| Charles Le Brun Wedding of Moses and Sephora 1687 oil on canvas Palazzo dei Musei, Modena |
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| Charles Le Brun Venus clipping Cupid's Wings ca. 1655 oil on canvas Museo de Arte de Ponce, Puerto Rico |