1619-1690. French artist, painter to Louis
XIV from 1662. In 1663 he became director of
the French Academy and of the Gobelin
factory, which produced art, tapestries, and
furnishings for the new palace of Versailles.
In the 1640s he studied under the painter
Poussin in Rome. Returning to Paris in 1646,
he worked on large decorative schemes
including the Galerie des glaces (Hall of
Mirrors) at Versailles. He also painted
portraits.