Who is Henri Loyrette?

Henri Loyrette , born in 1952, is a French arts administrator and historian. He directed the Louvre Museum from 2001 to 2013, expanding its collections and reach internationally. Before the Louvre, Loyrette was a curator and director at the Musée d’Orsay, specializing in 19th-century art and architecture. He organized exhibitions on artists like Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet and was known for his writings on 19th-century artists such as Degas and Gustave Eiffel. Loyrette has held positions in French cultural organizations, including the French Committee on Art History. In 2007, he brokered a deal to open a Louvre branch in Abu Dhabi and created an endowment for the Louvre in 2009. Loyrette initiated projects such as an Islamic art wing at the Louvre and a regional museum in Lens. From 2013 to 2015, he served as president of Admical, a corporate philanthropy organization.

What is an arts administrator?

An arts administrator manages or directs an arts organization. Henri Loyrette (born in 1952) is a French arts administrator and historian known for his role as director of the Louvre Museum in Paris from 2001 to 2013, where he expanded the museum's collections and reach internationally. Before the Louvre, Loyrette was the director at the Musée d’Orsay, which housed the largest collection of 19th-century art of any French museum. Loyrette also held positions in French cultural organizations such as the French Committee on Art History.

What major museums has Henri Loyrette worked for?

Henri Loyrette, a French arts administrator and historian, has worked for major museums, including the Musée d’Orsay , where he served as curator beginning in 1978 and then as director in 1994. In 2001, Loyrette became the director of the Louvre Museum . He is recognized for expanding the display of the museum’s collections and the museum itself to locations outside France. He stepped down as director in 2013.

What role did Henri Loyrette play at the Louvre Museum?

As director of the Louvre Museum from 2001 to 2013, Henri Loyrette expanded the display of the museum’s collections and the museum itself to locations outside France. He brokered a deal in 2007 to open a branch of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and in 2009, he created an endowment for the Louvre, the first French museum to hold such a fund. During his tenure, Loyrette also constructed an Islamic art wing at the Louvre and a regional museum in Lens, Pas-de-Calais département, both opening in 2012. He added works by contemporary artists to the Louvre’s collection, and the number of visitors to the museum doubled.

What are some contributions Henri Loyrette made to art history?

Henri Loyrette, a French arts administrator and historian, made significant contributions to art history, particularly in 19th-century painting and architecture. As director of the Louvre Museum (2001–13), he expanded the museum's collections and reach internationally. Before that, at the Musée d’Orsay, Loyrette organized successful exhibitions spotlighting major figures like Honoré Daumier and Edgar Degas , as well as lesser-known European artists. Loyrette also wrote books on Degas, Gustave Eiffel , and Marcel Proust’s views on modern art.

How did Henri Loyrette help promote French art around the world?

Henri Loyrette, as director of the Louvre Museum from 2001 to 2013, significantly promoted French art internationally. He expanded the display of the Louvre’s collections to locations outside France and brokered a deal in 2007 to open a Louvre branch in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This agreement, though criticized, enabled him to create an endowment for the Louvre in 2009, the first of its kind for a French museum. Loyrette also organized successful exhibitions at the Musée d’Orsay, spotlighting major and lesser-known 19th-century European artists and movements.

Henri Loyrette

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Born:: May 31, 1952, Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, France (age 74)

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Henri Loyrette

French arts administrator and historian

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Who is Henri Loyrette?
Henri Loyrette, born in 1952, is a French arts administrator and historian. He directed the Louvre Museum from 2001 to 2013, expanding its collections and reach internationally. Before the Louvre, Loyrette was a curator and director at the Musée d’Orsay, specializing in 19th-century art and architecture. He organized exhibitions on artists like Edgar Degas and Édouard Manet and was known for his writings on 19th-century artists such as Degas and Gustave Eiffel.

Loyrette has held positions in French cultural organizations, including the French Committee on Art History. In 2007, he brokered a deal to open a Louvre branch in Abu Dhabi and created an endowment for the Louvre in 2009. Loyrette initiated projects such as an Islamic art wing at the Louvre and a regional museum in Lens. From 2013 to 2015, he served as president of Admical, a corporate philanthropy organization.
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1. Henri Loyrette
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What is an arts administrator?
An arts administrator manages or directs an arts organization. Henri Loyrette (born in 1952) is a French arts administrator and historian known for his role as director of the Louvre Museum in Paris from 2001 to 2013, where he expanded the museum's collections and reach internationally. Before the Louvre, Loyrette was the director at the Musée d’Orsay, which housed the largest collection of 19th-century art of any French museum. Loyrette also held positions in French cultural organizations such as the French Committee on Art History.
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2. Henri Loyrette
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What major museums has Henri Loyrette worked for?
Henri Loyrette, a French arts administrator and historian, has worked for major museums, including the Musée d’Orsay, where he served as curator beginning in 1978 and then as director in 1994. In 2001, Loyrette became the director of the Louvre Museum. He is recognized for expanding the display of the museum’s collections and the museum itself to locations outside France. He stepped down as director in 2013.
1 Britannica Source
1. Henri Loyrette
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What role did Henri Loyrette play at the Louvre Museum?
As director of the Louvre Museum from 2001 to 2013, Henri Loyrette expanded the display of the museum’s collections and the museum itself to locations outside France. He brokered a deal in 2007 to open a branch of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and in 2009, he created an endowment for the Louvre, the first French museum to hold such a fund. During his tenure, Loyrette also constructed an Islamic art wing at the Louvre and a regional museum in Lens, Pas-de-Calais département, both opening in 2012. He added works by contemporary artists to the Louvre’s collection, and the number of visitors to the museum doubled.
1 Britannica Source
1. Henri Loyrette
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some contributions Henri Loyrette made to art history?
Henri Loyrette, a French arts administrator and historian, made significant contributions to art history, particularly in 19th-century painting and architecture. As director of the Louvre Museum (2001–13), he expanded the museum's collections and reach internationally. Before that, at the Musée d’Orsay, Loyrette organized successful exhibitions spotlighting major figures like Honoré Daumier and Edgar Degas, as well as lesser-known European artists. Loyrette also wrote books on Degas, Gustave Eiffel, and Marcel Proust’s views on modern art.
1 Britannica Source
1. Henri Loyrette
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did Henri Loyrette help promote French art around the world?
Henri Loyrette, as director of the Louvre Museum from 2001 to 2013, significantly promoted French art internationally. He expanded the display of the Louvre’s collections to locations outside France and brokered a deal in 2007 to open a Louvre branch in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This agreement, though criticized, enabled him to create an endowment for the Louvre in 2009, the first of its kind for a French museum. Loyrette also organized successful exhibitions at the Musée d’Orsay, spotlighting major and lesser-known 19th-century European artists and movements.
1 Britannica Source
1. Henri Loyrette
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Henri Loyrette (born May 31, 1952, Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, France) is a French arts administrator and historian who served as director (2001–13) of the Louvre Museum in Paris. He was especially recognized for expanding the display of the museum’s collections and the museum itself to locations outside France.

Loyrette received a master’s degree in history and studied in Rome at the Academy of France (1975–77). Upon his return to France in 1978, he was appointed curator at the Musée d’Orsay, where he remained for 23 years, becoming director in 1994. The Orsay boasted the largest collection of 19th-century art of any French museum, and Loyrette, whose specialties were 19th-century painting and architecture, organized a number of successful exhibitions there. These exhibitions not only spotlighted the works of major figures such as the caricaturist Honoré Daumier and the Impressionists Edgar Degas (on whom Loyrette was an expert) and Édouard Manet but also presented the work of lesser-known European artists. Loyrette also organized exhibitions on the origins of Impressionism and on the relation of Impressionism to Art Nouveau, in addition to the noted 1987–88 exhibition “Chicago, Birth of a Metropolis.” Loyrette’s writings included books on Degas, Gustave Eiffel, and other 19th-century artists, as well as on Marcel Proust’s views on modern art.

Loyrette held important positions in several French cultural organizations and was widely honoured. He served as secretary-general of the French Committee on Art History and was a member of the board of directors of a number of institutions, including the National Graduate School of Decorative Arts and the Cité de la Musique, an interactive museum in Paris. When he was elected to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1997, he was its youngest member.

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In 2001 Loyrette was appointed to the directorship of the Louvre Museum. Not only was he one of the youngest persons ever to head the Louvre, but it was also notable that he had not risen through the ranks at the institution, which was the normal path of advancement to the top. Among the most significant of Loyrette’s accomplishments as director was the brokering of a 2007 deal to open a branch of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The deal, which was valued at more than $500 million and was sharply criticized, enabled Loyrette to create in 2009 an endowment for the Louvre, which became the first French museum to hold such a fund. The move came as the French government decreased its financial support of the institution, making fundraising an increasingly important aspect of Loyrette’s directorship. His tenure was also marked by a number of ambitious projects, including the construction of both an Islamic art wing at the Louvre and a regional museum in Lens, Pas-de-Calais département (both opened in 2012). In addition, he notably added works by contemporary artists to the Louvre’s collection. Loyrette’s various initiatives proved popular, as the number of visitors to the museum doubled during his tenure. In 2013 he stepped down as director.

Loyrette subsequently served as president (2013–15) of Admical, a nonprofit organization involved in corporate philanthropy.

Robert Rauch The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Henri Loyrette

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