Louis Réau (1 January 1881,

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

- 10 June 1961,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

. His major contribution involved exploring French art's international influence. His magnum opus, ''Iconographie de l'Art Chrétien'', in six volumes, encompasses all of Europe, including the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

tradition.

Life and work

He studied at the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

in Paris then, until 1908, at the

École Nationale des Langues Orientales Vivantes Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (; ), abbreviated as INALCO, is a French Grand Etablissement with a specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. Its coverage spans languages of Central Europ ...

. From 1911 to 1913, he was Director of the ; working with his counterparts in the

Mir Iskusstva ''Mir iskusstva'' ( rus, «Мир искусства», p=ˈmʲir ɪˈskustvə, ''World of Art'') was both a Russian magazine and the artistic movement it fostered, playing a significant role in shaping the Russian avant-garde. The movement was d ...

movement. He also worked to oppose the growing influence of Germany. At the beginning of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was mobilized and served as an interpreter on the Eastern Front, with the 158th Infantry Division. After 1917, he was responsible for the Russian news service at the Ministry of War. Later, he was awarded the

Order of Saint Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

. In 1928, he was placed in charge of a mission to Russia, to establish a catalogue of French art works being held at museums in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. From 1930 to 1938, he was Director of the

Institut Français de Vienne An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

, then served as Professor of

Medieval art The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, with over 1000 years of art in Europe, and at certain periods in Western Asia and Northern Africa. It includes major art movements and periods, national and regional ar ...

at the Sorbonne; a position he held until 1951. He was elected to the

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

in 1947, becoming the first person to occupy the newly created Seat #11 in the "Unattached" section. His daughter, , was a physician and Africanist.

Sources

Brief biography
@ the

Dictionary of Art Historians The ''Dictionary of Art Historians'' (DAH) is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to art historians, art critics and their dictionaries. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on published art h ...

Biographical data and references
from the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques @ La France Savante

External links

* Olga Medvedkova, "Scientifique, ou intellectuel ?: Louis Réau et la création de l'Institut français de Saint-Pétersbourg", In: ''Cahiers du monde russe'', 2002, Vol.43

1881 births 1961 deaths French art historians Institute directors Members of the Académie des beaux-arts People from Poitiers {{France-writer-stub