Louis XIV and the Gobelins

The king and Colbert made France Europe's leading country for luxury goods.

Colbert organised manufactories for tapestries, carpets, glass and furniture. In 1667 the Gobelins became the Crown's manufactory under Charles Le Brun, the Savonnerie wove carpets and a new glassworks made the mirrors for the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

André-Charles Boulle made furniture with marquetry of tortoiseshell and brass, and André Le Nôtre laid out the gardens of Versailles. The style spread across Europe through engravings.