And Louis XIV: L'Homme et le Roi, a new exhibit set in the Baroque splendor of the Palace of Versailles (through Feb. 7), ... and a sensual marble bust of the king by Bernini.

Bernini is adapting a technique from painting to the recalcitrant medium of stone. ... a somewhat crowded jumble of mostly later commissions from such powerful men as Louis XIV.

Oliva, in turn, helped to broker Bernini’s commission to do a bust of Louis XIV and another commission from Louis (which fell through) to design the east front of the Louvre.

Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers Dale Halbur / iStockphoto.com. ... when he was invited by King Louis XIV to design an addition—ultimately rejected—to the Louvre royal palace.

Bernini could turn churches into histrionic events. ... But when he was the author, the result was a hit every time, with the exception of the equestrian statue of Louis XIV, ...