Printing the Grant Manner – Charles Le Brun and Monumental Prints in the Age of Louis XIV

This is a superbly illustrated survey of the monumental print works of Charles Le Brun, court painter to Louis XIV. This richly illustrated volume illuminates an extraordinary moment in the intertwined history of painting and printmaking in Europe. The brilliant age of Louis XIV saw the creation of a collection of unusually large prints - some of which measure as much as fifteen square feet when assembled - that reproduced works by the French king's inventive court painter, designer, and arts administrator, Charles Le Brun (1619-1690). The two essays and the catalogue entries in this volume focus on eleven of these monumental reproductive engravings. The authors not only relate the fascinating story of the production of these prints but also explore their role in the glorification of Louis XIV and in forming critical opinion of Le Brun as an artist and as an advocate of history painting in "The Grand Manner".