Beautifully presented book ... Insightful analyses ... Burchard's most fascinating insight is his analogy between Le Brun's designs and frontispieces for Early Modern Books ... This insightful analogy forms a thread that not only connects the chapters of the book, but provides a coherent characterisation of the artist's approach to representing Louis XIV across all media.
The Art Newspaper ... Read more
It's about time ... for a reassessment of Le Brun's prolific and dizzyingly varied output, and Wolf Burchard's book, The Sovereign Artist, is just that ... Addressing distinct artistic projects in each chapter, Burchard's book frames Le Brun as a relentlessly versatile force of nature.
Art Quarterly
Assesses [Le Brun's] achievement across disciplines, from painting to interiors and tapestry design.
Apollo Magazine
This is the best book on this universal man , as some contemporaries called him, in English. Wolf Burchard brings to this labour of love the knowledge that comes from a lifelong fascination with Versailles and the reign of Louis XIV.... The Sovereign Artist is a fascinating, readable account of a supreme moment of French and court art.
The Literary Review
...cet ouvrage constitue desormais une reference incontournable par ses nombreuses mises au point et la prise en compte de la production de l'artiste dans toute sa diversite (... from now on, this publication will constitute an inescapable work of reference due to its numerous explanations and the considerations of the artists production in all its diversity).
Revue de l'art, n Degrees 197/2017-3
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