His life exemplifies the interrelation of art and politics in seventeenth-century France.
Charles Perrault was born on 12 January 1628, the seventh child of Pierre Perrault, a member of the Paris Parlement, and Pâquette Leclerc Perrault. Following in the footsteps of his father and eldest brother, Jean, Charles received training as a lawyer, but he found a more attractive pursuit in the writing of poetry. In 1654 he moved in with another brother, Pierre, who had purchased a post as the principal tax collector of the city of Paris. Pierre was also a personal friend of Colbert, who in 1661 became the unofficial prime minister of Louis XIV.
Colbert and Louis XIV undertook the construction of a royal image that included patronage of the arts in order to secure political authority by controlling the representation of the king in a wide variety of media. In 1663 Colbert selected a "Little Academy" of artistic advisers, later formally recognized as the Academy of Inscriptions and Medals, which was charged with inventing the mottoes that were to celebrate Louis on public buildings, statues, and commemorative medals.
As one of the four founding members of the newly formed "Little Academy," Colbert appointed Perrault, who by that time had worked as a clerk for his brother Pierre for ten years.
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