Pierre de Nolhac

In 1886, he was attached to the Museum in the Palace of Versailles and became curator in 1892, founding a chair of art history within the École du Louvre in 1910, then retiring to the Musée Jacquemart-André in 1920.

His activities in the museum of Versailles were crucial, since they contributed greatly to modernisation and to restoring the collections, including the furniture, which had been dispersed during the French Revolution.

During his stay at the French School of Rome (1882-1885), he discovered unpublished manuscripts of Petrarch in the Vatican library, and the discovery helped advance knowledge about his subject.

Also available are the original of his 1924 acceptance speech to the Académie française and his very extensive correspondence with figures as diverse as Marcel Proust, Henri Bergson, Leconte de Lisle, Ernest Renan, Mussolini or Lyautey.

Par lui sous notre ciel s’attestent d’âge en âge Les grâces d’un génie où se prennent les cœurs ; La volonté d’un seul ordonna ces splendeurs Et le pays entier se mire en son ouvrage.