The Société des amis du Louvre ("Society of Friends of the Louvre") is a

voluntary association A voluntary group or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, common-interest association, association, or society) is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement, usually as volunteers, to form a body (or organization) to ac ...

created in 1897 whose objective is to buy objects with an artistic, archeological, or historical value for 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 ...

History

The Society was created in 1897 by a group of luminaries and philanthropists that included Roland Bonaparte,

Isaac de Camondo Count Isaac de Camondo (born 3 July 1851 in Istanbul; died 7 April 1911 in Paris) was a member of the House of Camondo noted primarily as an art collector, with a noteworthy interest in the then "avant-garde" artists of the Impressionist and Pos ...

, Henry Greffulhe, , and

Edmond James de Rothschild Baron Abraham Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild (Hebrew: הברון אברהם אדמונד בנימין ג'יימס רוטשילד - ''HaBaron Avraham Edmond Binyamin Ya'akov Rotshield''; 19 August 1845 – 2 November 1934) was a French memb ...

. Victor Martin Le Roy, the noted art collector, was also one of the founders and directors of the society.

Activity

The Society has approximately 70000 members. Donations and membership fees allow it to use each year 3 Million euros to acquire art objects. Its donations to the Louvre museum amount to more than 700 items, from which some masterpieces such as the '' Pietà of Villeneuve-lès-Avignon'', the ''

Turkish Bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

'' by

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( , ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic orthodoxy against the ...

, and the

diadem A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. Overview The word derives from the Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', " ...

Empress Eugénie An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother (empr ...

. Some of the donations are now in the

Guimet Museum The Guimet Museum (full name in french: Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet; MNAAG; ) is an art museum located at 6, place d'Iéna in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. Literally translated into English, its full name is the Nationa ...

or the Musée d'Orsay following reallocation of some of the French state's art collections since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Presidents

Georges Berger Georges Berger (14 September 1918 in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, near Brussels – 23 August 1967 at the Nürburgring) was a racing driver who raced a Gordini in his two World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He initially competed during the 195 ...

(1897-1910) * Jules Maciet (1910-1911) * (1911-1931) * Albert Henraux (1932-1953) * Jacques Dupont (1954-1986) * Raoul Ergmann (1986-1910) * François Puaux (1990-1996) *

Marc Fumaroli Marc Fumaroli (10 June 1932 – 24 June 2020) was a French historian and essayist who was widely respected as an advocate for French literature and culture. While born in Marseille, Fumaroli grew up in the Moroccan city of Fez, and served in th ...

(1996-2016) * Louis-Antoine Prat (since 2016)

References

External links

Official web site
{{Authority control Louvre

History

Activity

Presidents

See also

References

External links