Georges Salles (24 September 1889 – 20 October 1966) was a 20th-century French art historian and curator.

Biography

A specialist of the East, George Salles led excavations in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, and China. He was then curator at the Asian Arts Department of 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 ...

, and in 1941 director of 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 ...

. Speaking of the first General Conference of the ICOM, held in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1948, its president Georges Salles reported that "It has enabled a better understanding of the skills needed in our time by the curator of a museum if he/she is to fulfill h/h duties in a satisfactory manner." Between 1945 and 1957 he was director of the Museums of France. With

Jean Cassou Jean Cassou (9 July 1897 – 15 January 1986) was a French writer, art critic, poet, member of the French Resistance during World War II and the first Director of the Musée national d'Art moderne in Paris. Biography Jean Cassou was born at Bi ...

, he laid the foundations for a new design of the museum of modern art, to make art available to the greatest number. It is with his support that were made the ceiling by Georges Braque at the Louvre, the fresco of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and the wall of Joan Miró at the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, all famous painters of whom he was a friend. Himself a collector, he bought works of young artists such as

Mark Tobey Mark George Tobey (December 11, 1890 – April 24, 1976) was an American painter. His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophi ...

. He published a ''Histoire des Arts de l’Orient'', then ''Au Louvre, scènes de la vie du musée'', and ''Le Regard'' in 1939. With

André Malraux Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and Minister of Culture (France), minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Go ...

, he headed the series L’Univers des formes. In 1953, Salles joined the cultural council of the Cultural Circle of

Royaumont Royaumont Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, located near Asnières-sur-Oise in Val-d'Oise, approximately 30 km north of Paris, France. History It was built between 1228 and 1235 with the support of Louis IX. Several members of the Fren ...

Points of view

References

Bibliography

* ''Histoire des Arts de l’Orient'' * ''Au Louvre, scènes de la vie du musée'' * Introduction de l'ouvrage ''Arts de la Chine ancienne'' (1937) * ''Le Regard'' (1939) * ''La Tapisserie française du Moyen Âge à nos jours'' (Catalogue, 1946) * ''Julio Gonzales. Dessins et aquarelles. Couverture lithographique de Mourlot.'' (Éditions Berggruen, 1957) * Numerous and various contributions in lIllustration'', ''le Figaro'', ''L'Œil'' (including No. 47 of 15 November 1958), etc.

External links

Georges Salles
on data.bnf.fr
Obituary
on Persée
Salles, Georges
on Dictionary of art historians {{DEFAULTSORT:Salles, Georges 1889 births 1966 deaths People from Sèvres French art historians French art curators