Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/72

LEBRUN. Petite Galciie li'J to the construction of the Galeiic U'Apollon above it, which Lebiun was employed to decorate. This work he left un- iiiii>lu<l, hut the numerous drawings from his designs whieh are in existence made it possible for KugOne Delacroix in the nineteenth century to complete the work according to the original intention. The extraordinary power which I.cbrun exer- cised during the reign of Louis XIV. came main- ly from the part lie played in the establisliment of the Academy of Painting and Sculpture. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the I'lencli Academy at Rome, and until his death was practically Minister of Fine Arts to the King, having the supervision of all his immense artis- tic undertakings. After the completion of the Hotel Lambert, Lebrun was employed by the Chancellor Fonquet to decorate the new Chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte, designed by Louis Levaii. In lCfl2 he was ap- pointed first painter to the King, and placed in charge of the decoration of the palace and park of Versailles. lie designed the fountains and statues of the jiark, decorated the vestibule of the palace, and in 1070 began the decoration of the great gallery with paintings of the deeds of Louis XI'. He was made director of the new manufacture of tapestries and furniture at Les Gobelins. He decorated the Cliflteau dcs Sceaux for Colbert and designed some of its pavilions. Kext to Vcrsaillfs, Lebrun's most important work was the construction and decoration of the Chateau of Marly, which has been destroyed, but many of his designs for the ariliitc<ture have been preserved. After the death of Colbert his fortunes declined, and in consequence of the troubles brought upon him by the enmity of Louvois, Lebrun sickened and died, on February 12, 1690. He was an able and prolific painter, and his works show good composition and great inventive •power. Although of good decorative etl'ect. they are mannered: his drawing is superficial, and his coloring untrue to nature. The Louvre con- tains a large number of his works, the best known of which is the series of five pictures illustrating the "History of Alexander the Great." He is well represented in must of the principal European museums, especially in those of France. Consult: Henri Jouin, Charles Lchrun et Ics arts sous Louis XIV. (Paris. 1800) : ilerson, "Charles Lebrun," in the Gazette drs lieaiix-Arts <I894) ; Genevay, Le simile Louis XIV., Charles Lehniii. ilrroralfur (Paris. 1885). LEBRUIir, or LE BRTJN, Ch.^kles Fran- cois. Duke de Piacenza (1730-1824). A French statesman, liorn at Saint-Sauveur-Laiidelin, in the Department of Manche. He began public life as secretary to the future Chancellor Jiau- peoii. was made inspector of the Crown lands, and indirectly exercised great influence on the policy of the Ministry of Louis XV. After the dismissal of the Maupeou Ministry, in 1774, Lebrun was in retirement till 1789. At the out- break of the Revolution he wrote a pamphlet eniiiied Lu voix di( Ciloyen, and was elected to the States-General, and in the Constituent Assembly he spoke often on matters of finance. He was made Governor of the Department of Seine-et-Oise in 1791, and distinguished him- self by an orderly and vigorous administra- tion. Twice arrested during the Terror, lie was freed in 170o. and elected Deputy to the Council of Five Hundred, becoming president in the following year. In 1700 he was reelected, ac- quired a commanding inlliienee in that body, and controlled its financial legislation. Mter the 18th Brumaire Xapolcon made Lebrun Third Consul for his .services during the coup d'etat. In ISO.) he negotiated the union of the Ligurinn Republic with the French Empire, and was made Duke of Piacenza. In 1807 he reorganized tin; Cour des Comptes (the exchequer), but on the abolition of the tribuiiat by the Emperor retin ' to private life. He was called back in ISIO at il age of .seventy-one to govern Holland after 1! abdication of Louis Bonajiarte. He returned i^ Paris in 1813, and soon after, for his services i i the Bourbons, was raised to the ]ieerage. II' went over, however, to Xapolcon during tin- Hundred Days, and on the return of the Bour- bons his name was struck from the list of peci>, but restored in 1819. lebrun published transla- tions of Tasso's Gerusalcmmc Libtratu, the Ilind. and the Odyssey. His Memoirs appeared iu 1 829.

LEBRUN, Marie Louise Elisabeth Vigée (175.5-1842). A French portrait painter. She was born in Paris. April Hi, 17.5.5. When fifteen years of age she had established herself as a portrait painter. In 1775 she was elected member of the Academy of Saint Luke, at Rome, and in 1783 a member of the French Academy. In 1776 she contracted an unfortunate marriage with Lebrun, a spendthrift and a man much older than herself. She was appointed painter in ordinary to Marie Antoinette, and in 1779 com- menced the series of thirty portraits of the Queen. She became a great favorite of society. At the time of the Revolution she fled to Italy. visiting Bologna. Florence, Rome, Naples, and then went to Saint Petersburg, where she remained five years. She was everywhere received with high honor, admitted to membership of the principal academies, and abundantly employed. After an absence of twelve years she returned to Paris, and in 1802 she visited England, remaining three years. She also visited Holland. Belgium, and Switzerland, making her home alternately in Paris and Louveciennes. She died in Paris, at the age of eighty-seven, March 30, 1842.

Madame Lebrun's figures are well posed, and although the composition is sometimes conventional, there is always elegance and refinement in her paintings. Her technique is most careful in finish, her drawing is good, and her color is pleasing, reminding of Greuze. Among the best of her portraits are those of Madame Lebnin and her daughter; Jean Paesiello : the painter Hubert Robert; Joseph Vernet (Louvre); Madame Mole-Raymond: Prince of Wales (George IV.); Lord Byron; Marie Antoinette and her three children (Versailles Museum). Consult Madame Lebrun's (Souvenirs de ma vie (Paris, 1860).

LEBRTJN, PiERBE AxToiNE (1785-1873). A French poet and dramatist, born in Paris. Dur- ing the campaigns of the Empire his patriotic odes .1 la gramie armic i 180.5). .S'»r /u caiujiagiie de 1S07 (1808), and on kindred subjects at- tracted considerable attention, and his plays won