Who directed the team of artists who decorated the Palace of Versailles and ran the Gobelins manufactory?

• A. Jules Hardouin-Mansart
• B. Charles Le Brun
• C. André Le Nôtre
• D. Louis Le Vau

Answer: (B)

Leadership of Versailles' decoration program and the Gobelins workshop is the focus here. Charles Le Brun was the central figure who directed the team of artists responsible for decorating the Palace of Versailles and who ran the Gobelins manufactory. Appointed as the king’s premier painter, he organized and guided a large corps of painters, designers, and craftsmen, shaping the overall aesthetic and ensuring a cohesive Baroque-French classicism across the interiors. He also overseen the Gobelins tapestry workshop, aligning the production of tapestries and other textiles with the palace’s grand decorative scheme. The other names were primarily architects or landscape designers—architects shaped the building and spaces, and the landscape designer created the gardens—roles separate from directing the artistic team and managing Gobelins.