The Sun King, Louis XIV (1643–1715) launched haute couture, the business of fashion. It was a brilliant move. He made personal appearance important for social interaction. At court, the king himself was impeccably dressed, and he required the same of his courtiers. Clothing had to fit perfectly, be made with beautiful fabrics, and be impeccably…

WARSAW, Poland—I saw him as soon as I entered The White Hall of Wilanow Palace. On the far side of the room, a confident nobleman casually dressed in a white shirt, a velvet vest, leather trousers, and a blue sash, with a kind face and an open, approachable manner, sat astride his horse. He had…

The spring of 2022 was an extraordinary season for French art in the United States. At the Getty Center in Los Angeles, the exhibition “Poussin and the Dance” delved into the Baroque master Nicolas Poussin’s pictorial choreography and showcased a number of paintings executed in Rome during the 1630s. Meanwhile, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in…