Cécile Debray, born November 20, 1966, is a French

museum director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

, specialist in modern and contemporary art in painting. Cécile Debray is general heritage curator, director of the

Musée de l'Orangerie The Musée de l'Orangerie ( en, Orangery Museum) is an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings located in the west corner of the Tuileries Garden next to the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The museum is most famous as the pe ...

since 2017. She has been awarded the medal of Officier des Arts et des Lettres by France in 2018.

Biography

Museum director, Cécile de Debray studied art history before entering the

Institut national du patrimoine French national institute of cultural heritage, called Institut national du patrimoine (Inp), is the only academy in France in charge of the training of both curators and conservators. It belongs to French Ministry of Culture and is organized in ...

in 1996. Cécile Debray is the great-granddaughter of the academician writer

Georges Duhamel Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a serie ...

and represents his heirs. She studied art history and history at

Paris Nanterre University Paris Nanterre University (French: ''Université Paris Nanterre''), formerly Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public research university based in Nanterre, Paris, France. It is one of the most prestigious French universities, ma ...

, at the

École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and ''grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

and at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, then, in 1996, joined the Institut national du patrimoine.

Professional career

Director of the museums of

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Ch ...

, from 1997 to 2000, she was curator at the Museum of Modern Art of Paris from 2000 to 2005, scientific advisor to the General Administrator of the Réunion des Musées Nationaux and the Grand Palais des Champs -Élysées, in charge of the programming of the National Galleries of the

Grand Palais The Grand Palais des Champs-Élysées ( en, Great Palace of the Elysian Fields), commonly known as the Grand Palais (English: Great Palace), is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located at the Champs-Élysées in the 8th arro ...

, from 2005 to 2008. From 2008 to 2017, Cécile Debray was chief curator in charge of modern collections at the National Museum of Modern Art-Centre Pompidou. In 2009 she was co-curator with Camille Morineau of Elles@centrepompidou a female artists' exhibition, for which she was in charge of the travelling exhibition through the United States and Brazil with a selection of artworks focused on the American and Brazilian scenes. A specialist in

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, in 2012, she revealed the conceptual dimension of Matisse's work through the exhibition ''Matisse, Pairs and series'' highlighting the repetitive exploration of the same subject, of the same motif, which allowed the artist to explore painting. In 2015, she designed the

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

monographic exhibition ''La peinture même''. Cécile Debray shows the painting and the drawings which led the artist to the realization of the ''Grand Verre'', ''La mariée mise à nu par ses célibataires, même'', from 1910 to 1923. A new approach, the exhibition intends to show the paintings of the one who, according to the modernist doxa, wanted to kill painting. In 2017, she succeeded

Laurence des Cars Laurence des Cars (born Laurence Élisabeth de Pérusse des Cars on 13 June 1966) is a French general curator of heritage and art historian, since September 2021 Director of the Louvre Museum after having headed the Musée d'Orsay and Musée de ...

as director of the Musée de l'Orangerie. She rethinks the presentation of the collections which has been accompanied by a renovation and redesign of spaces, and sets up "Contemporary Counterpoints", with artists such as

Otobong Nkanga Otobong Nkanga (born 1974) is a Nigerian-born visual artist and performance artist, based in Antwerp, Belgium. In 2015 she won the Yanghyun Prize. In her work she explores the social and topographical changes of her environment, observes their i ...

, Richard Jackson and

Ann Veronica Janssens Ann Veronica Janssens is a Belgian contemporary visual artist born in 1956 in Folkestone, United Kingdom. She lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. Her work is an invitation to ephemeral experiences, which are at times delirious or vertiginou ...

. Cécile Debray is promoting in France in 2020 the work of the Portuguese artist

Paula Rego Paula or PAULA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Paula, in video game ''EarthBound'' * Paula, in ''The Larry Sanders Show'' * Paula Campbell (''EastEnders''), in 2003 Film and television * ''Paula'' (1915 film), a si ...

, the only woman in the School of London, a figure of the movement against violence towards women and the ambivalence of childhood, which she exhibits at the museum of the Orangery. Invited by Jean de Loisy to the programme "L'art est la matière" (Art is matter) on

France Culture France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. Its programming encompasses a wide variety of features on historical, philosophical, sociopolitical, and scientific themes (including debates, discussions, and documentari ...

, she says:

''The Orangery is a setting that allows a unique enhancement of the works. Thus, Paula Rego's pastels unfold in all their sensuality, between a very raw realism and a Hispanic baroque.''

In 2021, Cécile Debray is continuing her programme of historical exhibitions at the Musée de l'Orangerie with Soutine /

de Kooning Kooning is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Willem de Kooning (1904–1997), Dutch American artist * Elaine de Kooning (1918–1989), American artist {{Short pages monitor