Louis-Antoine Prat (born 24 December 1944 in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

) is a French art historian and

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

, specialized in drawings.

Early life and education

Louis-Antoine Prat is the son of Georges Prat, a wealthy French businessman. Georges was an art collector: he possessed paintings, sculptures, furniture and drawings. Georges Prat died when Louis-Antoine Prat was six years old. He studied in both

La Sorbonne , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

and Sciences Po. He then followed the courses of the

École du Louvre The École du Louvre is an institution of higher education and grande école located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology and epigraphy. Admission is ...

The collection

Regularly exposed in France or other countries, the art collection of Louis-Antoine and Véronique Prat in their apartment of the

7th arrondissement of Paris The 7th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''le septième''. The arrondissement, called Palais-Bourbon in a r ...

has often been the subject of publications. Their collection is mainly directed towards French drawings from 1600 to 1900. The first drawing bought by Louis and Veronique was a portrait of

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...

by André Breton, coming from the collection of

Valentine Hugo Valentine Hugo (1887–1968) was a French artist and writer. She was born Valentine Marie Augustine Gross, only daughter to Auguste Gross and Zélie Démelin, in Boulogne-sur-Mer. She is best known for her work with the Russian ballet and with th ...

. They donated a lot of their collection to French museums under

usufruct Usufruct () is a limited real right (or ''in rem'' right) found in civil-law and mixed jurisdictions that unites the two property interests of ''usus'' and ''fructus'': * ''Usus'' (''use'') is the right to use or enjoy a thing possessed, direct ...

. He is the first private art collector to have been exposed while living in the

Louvre museum The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. Louis-Antoine Prat was elected president of the

Société des amis du Louvre The Société des amis du Louvre ("Society of Friends of the Louvre") is a voluntary association created in 1897 whose objective is to buy objects with an artistic, archeological, or historical value for the Louvre museum. History The Society w ...

in 2016.

Selected works

Novels and short stories

* ''Les points de repère'',

Albin Michel Albin may refer to: Places * Albin, Wyoming, US * Albin Township, Brown County, Minnesota, US * Albin, Virginia, US People * Albin (given name), origin of the name and people with the first name "Albin" * Albin (surname) ;Mononyms * Albin of ...

, 1965 * ''L'amateur d'absolu'',

La Table Ronde LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

, 1983 * ''La ciguë avec toi'', La Table Ronde, 1984 * ''Un requiem allemand'', La Table Ronde, 1985 * ''Trois reflets d'Argentine'', La Table Ronde, 1986 * ''Le tombeau du nouvelliste : nouvelles'', La Table Ronde, 1988 *''Belle encore'' ''et autres nouvelles,'' Somogy, 2019

Radio drama

* ''La trahison'',

France Culture France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: * France Inter — Radio France's " generalist" sta ...

, 1969 * ''La leçon d’histoire'', France Culture, 1969 (with D.-P. Larger) * ''Parfois deux sans trois'', France Culture, 1970 * ''Pourquoi Fleur pleurait-elle'' ?, France Culture, 1971 * ''Nuit de guerre au Louvre'', Samsa, 2019

Art history

* '' Nicolas Poussin, 1594-1665, Catalogue raisonné des dessins'', Milan, Leonardo, 1994, 2 volumes (with

Pierre Rosenberg Pierre Max Rosenberg (born 13 April 1936) is a French art historian, curator, and professor. Rosenberg is the honorary president a director of the Musée du Louvre in Paris, and since 1995, he has held the 23rd seat of the Académie Française. H ...

) * ''

Antoine Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, a ...

, 1684-1721, Catalogue raisonné des dessins'', Milan, Leonardo, 1996, 3 tomes (with P. Rosenberg) * ''Dessins romantiques français provenant de collections privées parisiennes'', Paris,

Musée de la Vie Romantique The Musée de la Vie romantique (Museum of Romantic Life, or ''Museum of the Romantics'') stands at the foot of Montmartre hill in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris, France in an 1830 ''hôtel particulier'' facing two twin-stu ...

, 2001 * '' Jacques-Louis David, 1748-1825, Catalogue raisonné des Dessins'', Milan, Electa, 2002, 2 volumes (with Pierre Rosenberg) * ''

Théodore Chassériau Théodore Chassériau (September 20, 1819 – October 8, 1856) was a Dominican-born French Romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to Alger ...

. Obras sobre papel - Œuvres sur papier'', Saint Domingue, 2004 * '' Ingres'', Paris, Louvre, collection Cabinet des Dessins, n° 4, 2004 * ''Jacques-Louis David'', Paris, Louvre, collection Cabinet des Dessins, n° 9, 2005 (with A. Serullaz) * ''Ingres'', Paris, Louvre, 2006 * ''La collection Chennevières. Quatre siècles de dessins français'', Paris, 2007 * ''Le dessin français au XIXe siècle'', Paris, 2011 * ''

Paul Delaroche Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English ...

, Le cabinet des Dessins'', Editions Louvre-Le Passage, Paris, Louvre, 2012 * ''Le dessin français au XVIIe siècle'', Paris * ''Le dessin français au XVIIIe siècle'', Paris * ''Officier et gentleman au 19e siècle: la collection His de la Salle'', Paris, 2019

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prat, Louis-Antoine 1944 births French art collectors French art historians People from Nice Living people