Louis XIV was a man with a will of iron and made it absolute law during
his long reign of seventy-two years. His ideal was splendor, and he
encouraged great men in the intellectual and artistic world to do their
work, and shed their glory on the time. Conde, Turenne, Colbert,
Moliere, Corneille, La Fontaine, Racine, Fenelon, Boulle, Le Brun, are a
few among the long and wonderful list. He was indeed Louis the
Magnificent, the Sun King.
One of the great elements toward achieving the stupendous results of
this reign was the establishment of the "Manufacture des Meubles de la
Couronne," or, as it is usually called, "Manufacture des Gobelins."
Artists of all kinds were gathered together and given apartments in the
Louvre and the wonderfully gifted and versatile Le Brun was put at the
head. Tapestry, goldsmiths' work, furniture, jewelry, etc., were made,
and with the royal protection and interest France rose to the position
of world-wide supremacy in the arts. Le Brun had the same taste and love
of magnificence as Louis, and had also extraordinary executive ability
and an almost unlimited capacity for work, combined with the power of
gathering about him the most eminent artists of the time. Andre Charles
Boulle was one, and his beautiful cabinets, commodes, tables, clocks,
etc., are now almost priceless. He carried the inlay of metals,
tortoise-shell, ivory and beautiful woods to its highest expression, and
the mingling of colors with the exquisite workmanship gave most
wonderful effects.
Pages:
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36