Henri Loyrette (born 31 May 1952) was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris. He became first curator and then director of the Musée d'Orsay in 1978 and 1994 respectively. He became director of the Louvre Museum in 2001.
Loyrette's appointment to the directorship of the Louvre Museum was announced on 28 March 2001. According to Resnicow Shroeder Associates, previously Loyrette had "served as Director of the Musée d'Orsay from 1994 to 2001, and Curator at the Musée d'Orsay from 1978 to 1999."
Exhibitions
Loyrette has organized several exhibitions on diverse subjects, including exhibitions on Edgar Degas, Honoré Daumier, and the origins of Impressionism.
Loyrette is also an author, with a total of nineteen books on various subjects, including Degas, Gustave Eiffel, and Marcel Proust. One of his most popular works is one of his books on the subject of French art: Nineteenth Century French Art (pictured).
Books
Nineteenth Century French Art
Gustave Eiffel, Fribourg, Office du Livre, 1985.
Degas, "Je voudrais être illustre et inconnu", Paris, Gallimard, 1989.
Degas inédit, (direction de l'ouvrage), La Documentation française, 1989
Degas, Paris, Fayard, 1991.
La Famille Halévy. Entre le théâtre et l'histoire, (direction de l'ouvrage), R.M.N.-Fayard,
Loyrette recently endorsed the building of a new Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. This has sparked much controversy both in France and with the international community.