LEBRIJA, Spain, city in the province of Seville, 44 miles southwest of Seville, on the left bank of the Guadalquivir and the eastern border of marshes. called Las Marismas, and on the Seville-Cadiz Railway. It has a ruined Moorish castle and a church which was originally a mosque, and which ex hibits a combination of Moorish, Gothic and Roman architecture. There are deposits of clay which supply manufactures of bricks, tiles and earthenware, and the city has a trade in stock and country produce. Lebrija was set tled by. the Greeks and is the Roman Nabrissa or Nebrissa. It was a flourishing town under the Moorish domination and was captured by Saint Ferdinand in 1249, but was lost., It re mained Christian under the Castilian crown from the time of its capture by Andrew the Wise in 1264. It was the birthplace of Elio Antonio de Lebrija or Nebrija (1444•1522), known also as Nebrissensis, tutor of Queen Isabella and a leader of the revival of learning in Spain, who assisted Cardinal Ximenes in compiling the Polyglot Bible.' Pop. 11,506.
LEBRUN, 16-briin, Charles, French painter; b. Paris, 24 Feb. 1619; d. there, 12 Feb. 1690. He was the son pf a sculptor, but early turned his attention to painting and hecame the pupil of P. Perrier and S. Vouet. He was especially attracted by the Italian masters, examples of which he copied in the gallery at Fontainebleau so that in his 15th year his works won the patronage of Cardinal Richelieu. Chancellor Seguier provided means for him to visit Rome, and during his residence there (1642-46) he studied under Poussin, at the same time paying much attention to the antique and the paint ings of the early masters In 1646 he returned to France and assisted in founding the Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, in which he was successively professor, chancellor and in 1683 director. He was also director of the
Gohelin tapestry manufactory. In 1662 Louis XIV appointed him court painter, ennobled him and made him curator of his art collections. He was meanwhile engaged in decorating the Apollo Gall Try in the Louvre. In 1668 the king appointed him superintendent of works in the building of Saint Germain. He also decorated with paintings the royal chateau at Sceaux and designed the statues and fountains for the Park, etc. In 1679 he undertook his greatest work, the interior decoration of the palace at Versailles, and in the Great Gallery portrayed the achievements of Louis XIV. Very many paintings of his are still to be seen in the Louvre. His works are characterized by abun dant invention and facility of execution; they reflect the spirit of the contemporary Italian school, but are marred by excessive after effect, flatness of design and falsity of color tone. His vast canvas, 'Portrait of the Banker .labrech of Cologne and Family,' is in the Berlin Museum. He exercised a despotic influence over the French art of his time. He wrote 'Traite sur la physiognomie) and 'Methode pour apprendre a dessiner les pas Consult Generay, 'Le Style Louis XIV) (1885), and Jovin, 'Charles Lebrun, et les arts sous Louis XIV) (1890).