Anne Distel (born Anne Dayez on 19 February 1947) is a French honorary general curator of heritage at the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

and specialist in

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

paintings. She curated notable exhibitions such as ''Large monographie Renoir'', ''Cézanne et Un ami Van Gogh: Le Docteur Gachet'', and ''Paul Signac (1863-1935) or The Mystery et l'éclat''.

Career

Anne Distel is professor of

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, 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. Tradit ...

Paris-Sorbonne University Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; ) was a public university, public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Paris. In 2018, it m ...

. She is the author of numerous books on nineteenth-century paintings. She is particularly interested in

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

, and was the curator of the monographic exhibition of Renoir which was presented at the

Grand Palais The (; ), commonly known as the , is a historic site, exhibition hall and museum complex located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris between the Champs-Élysées and the Seine, France. Construction of the began in 1897 following the demolitio ...

in Paris in 1985. She organised a lecture, "Renoir and the Woman of Paris", at The Frick Collection art museum in 2012. She authored (1993), a lavishly illustrated pocket book for the collection "

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an Collection (publishing), editorial collection of Book illustration, illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in Pocket edition, ...

", which has been translated into six languages, including English; and ''Renoir'', a 400-page book packaged in a

box set A boxed set or (its US name) box set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box, hence 'boxed', and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists ...

, published in English in 2010. During an interview with

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003, it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...

, Distel observed that collectors—for example, Albert C. Barnes—played a very important role in Renoir's life, and were the cause of evolution of his style. Barnes built a foundation to house his eclectic

private collection 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 ...

in 1922. The foundation had a goal of education consistent with Barnes' very democratic ideas about the spread of culture. Distel was nominated Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2008.

Selected publications

* ''Impressionism: A Centenary Exhibition'', Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974 * ''Impressionism: The First Collectors'', Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1990 * ''Renoir : « Il faut embellir »'', collection «

» (nº 177), série Arts. Éditions Gallimard, 1993, new edition in 2009 ** UK edition – ''Renoir: A Sensuous Vision'', '

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institut ...

' series. Thames & Hudson, 1995 ** US edition – ''Renoir: A Sensuous Vision'', "

Abrams Discoveries Abrams may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname Places United States * Abrams, Wisconsin, a town * Abrams (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community * Abrams Mountain, Colorado * Abr ...

" series. Harry N. Abrams, 1995 * ''Gustave Caillebotte: Urban Impressionist'', Abbeville Press, 1995 * ''Signac, au temps d'harmonie'', collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 404), série Arts. Éditions Gallimard, 2001 * ''Renoir'', Abbeville Press, 2010 ; In collaboration * With John House and Lawrence Gowing, ''Renoir'' (Renoir Exhibition Catalogue), Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1985 * With Claire Frèches-Thory, Geniève Lacambre and Sylvie Gache-Patin, ''Musee d'Orsay: Impressionism and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces'', Thames & Hudson, 1993 * With Susan Alyson Stein, ''Cézanne to Van Gogh: The Collection of Doctor Gachet'', Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Distel, Anne 1947 births Living people French curators French art critics French women art critics Academic staff of the University of Paris Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres French women curators