Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Maupeou, René Nicolas de

(Encyclopedia)Maupeou, René Nicolas de rənāˈ nēkôläˈ də mōpo͞oˈ [key], 1714–92, chancellor of France (1768–74). He was president of the parlement of Paris before he succeeded his father as chancello...

Du Barry, Jeanne Bécu, comtesse

(Encyclopedia)Du Barry, Jeanne Bécu, comtesse zhän bāküˈ kôNtĕsˈ dü bärēˈ, do͞obărˈē [key], 1743–93, mistress of King Louis XV of France. A courtesan of illegitimate birth, she was the mistress of...

Riesener, Jean Henri

(Encyclopedia)Riesener, Jean Henri zhäN äNrēˈ rēzənĕrˈ [key], 1734–1806, French cabinetmaker, one of the major artists who made important contributions to the formation of the Louis XVI style in France. B...

Delisle, Guillaume

(Encyclopedia)Delisle, Guillaume gēyōmˈ dəlēlˈ [key], 1675–1726, French geographer and cartographer. His most important work is a world map (1700), as accurate as the data available at that time permitted a...

Lamartine, Alphonse Marie Louis de

(Encyclopedia)Lamartine, Alphonse Marie Louis de älfôNsˈ märēˈ lwē də lämärtēnˈ [key], 1790–1869, French poet, novelist, and statesman. After a trip to Italy and a brief period in the army, Lamartine ...

Drouais, François-Hubert

(Encyclopedia)Drouais, François-Hubert fräNswäˈ-übârˈ dro͞oāˈ [key], 1727–75, French painter, a follower of François Boucher, whose style he imitated. Under the patronage of the court he painted portra...

Louis XIV, king of France

(Encyclopedia)Louis XIV, 1638–1715, king of France (1643–1715), son and successor of King Louis XIII. Although he had a series of mistresses, Louis XIV finally came under the influence of Mme de Maintenon, wh...

Louis I, king of Hungary

(Encyclopedia)Louis I or Louis the Great, 1326–82, king of Hungary (1342–82) and of Poland (1370–82). He succeeded his father, Charles I, in Hungary, and his uncle, Casimir III, in Poland. He continued the in...

Caffieri

(Encyclopedia)Caffieri Fr. käfyārēˈ, Ital. käf-fyāˈrē [key], French family of artists. Philippe Caffieri, 1634–1716, left Italy to enter the service of Louis XIV at the Gobelin factory. He and a son, Jacq...

Chemin des Dames

(Encyclopedia)Chemin des Dames shəmăNˈ dā däm [key] [Fr.,=ladies' road], road running along a crest between the Aisne and Ailette rivers, N France. Built during Roman times, the road was the site of the battle...

Browse by Subject