The Masked Baron’s Louvre

Abstract

In this essay in translation from French, Sollers writes about Vivant Denon, the first director of The Louvre Museum in the early nineteenth century who is responsible. He uses letters and history to construct an examination of art and colonialism and empire. Sollers also writes about the relationship between Napoleon and Denon when changing the image of The Louvre Museum as a means of examining the relationship between art and the state. He follows Denon through Napoleon’s exile and the reinstatement of the monarchy in France. While little is know about Denon’s personal life, Sollers addresses some of the speculation surrounding Denon’s dandyism and rumored affair with Josephine de Beauharnais.