Orientalist museums in Paris during the Second World War

Conference by Ambre Genevois, contractual PhD student Paris Sorbonne.

What future for museum collections of art from the Far East in Paris during the Second World War? During this period, we observe an institutionalization of Asian arts through a major reorganization of Orientalist museums in the capital, leading to the emancipation of Far Eastern art and its consideration as a heritage in its own right. This project takes shape in a paradoxical context of dispersion of collections in the face of the conflict which reveals more than ever the individuality of the establishments in question, since the Louvre, Guimet or Cernuschi museums adopt as many different strategies for the protection of works, new acquisitions and event management.