<P> Another notable example is the St. Nicholas Church (Malá Strana) in Prague (1704--55), built by Christoph Dientzenhofer and his son Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer . Decoration covers all of walls of interior of the church . The altar is placed in the nave beneath the central dome, and surrounded by chapels, Light comes down from the dome above and from the surrounding chapels . The altar is entirely surrounded by arches, columns, curved balustrades and pilasters of colored stone, which are richly decorated with statuary, creating a deliberate confusion between the real architecture and the decoration . The architecture is transformed into a theater of light, color and movement . </P> <P> France largely resisted the ornate baroque style of Italy, Spain, Vienna and the rest of Europe . The French Baroque style (often termed Grand Classicism or simply Classicism in France) is closely associated with the works built for Louis XIV and Louis XV; it features more geometric order and measure than baroque, and less elaborate decoration on the facades and in the interiors . Louis XIV invited the master of baroque, Bernini, to submit a design for the new wing of the Louvre, but rejected it in favor of a more classical design by Claude Perrault and Louis Le Vau . </P> <P> The principal architects of the style included François Mansart (Chateau de Balleroy, 1626--1636), Pierre Le Muet (Church of Val - de-Grace, 1645--1665), Louis Le Vau (Vaux - le - Vicomte, 1657--1661) and especially Jules Hardouin Mansart and Robert de Cotte, whose work included the Galerie des Glaces and the Grand Trianon at Versailles (1687--1688). Mansart was also responsible for the Baroque - classicism of the Place Vendôme (1686--1699). </P> <P> The major work of the period was the Palace of Versailles, begun in 1661 by Le Vau with decoration by the painter Charles Le Brun . The gardens were designed by André Le Nôtre specifically to complement and amplify the architecture . The Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors), the centerpiece of the château, with paintings by Le Brun, was constructed between 1678 and 1686 . Mansart completed the Grand Trianon in 1687 . The chapel, designed by de Cotte, was finished in 1710 . Following the death of Louis XIV, Louis XV added the more intimate Petit Trianon and the highly ornate theater . The fountains in the gardens were designed to be seen from the interior, and to add to the dramatic effect . The palace was admired and copied by other monarchs of Europe, particularly Peter the Great of Russia, who visited Versailles early in the reign of Louis XV, and built his own version at Peterhof Palace near Saint Petersburg, between 1705 and 1725 . </P>

Who emerged as patrons in the baroque period