LE BRUN'S WORKS

Commissions for Charles LeBrun's works poured in from society's elite, mostly from nobility and from the wealthy, who could afford a masterpiece from the First Painter to the King.

Charles LeBrun was named Director of Gobelins. It is estimated that over 250 workers were employed in the tapestry workshops alone, which gives a good indication of the magnitude of the operations. As director, LeBrun assembled the best artists; painters, scupltors, gilders, metal caster, tapestry-makers, and gold- and silversmiths. '' Everything that was manufactured in the kingdom was based on LeBrun's sketches and drawings ''. LeBrun decorated the King's Palaces, the Louvre, the Gallery of Apollo, Versailles, the Tuileries, the King's carriages and even his naval vessels.

Charles LeBrun was also named Member of the Academy of Architecture. He realized his dream of mastering the arts of painting, sculpture and architecture, just as the Michelangelo (Italian Master) had. He devised plans for numerous triumphal arches, and for the facade and portal of the Church of Saint Nicholas of Chardonnet. He also produced drawings for the water parterre and number of fountains at Versailles. No art in the seventeenth certury remained untouched by LeBrun.