La constitution des collections du Muséum par l’appropriation : du rassemblement du mobilier de la Couronne dans la Grande Galerie aux saisies en Europe, à travers les actions d’Henri Reboul (1763-1839)

Abstract

After having played an important role in the founding of the Muséum central des Arts as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly, Henri Reboul (1763–1839) took part in the confiscations carried out by the Napoleonic armies in Rome, while nevertheless paying attention to the conservation of the works of art. While the analysis of the acts of a little-known figure such as Reboul allows light to be shed on new aspects of the history of the Louvre, it is at the same time the opportunity to be interested in the conceptual implications of the arrival, in the first national museum, of the artistic creations having belonged to the kings of France and of those that were confiscated in Europe, the physical appropriation of these objects being accompanied by an intellectual appropriation.

Keywords

• Henri Reboul
• heritage
• vandalism
• confiscations
• collecting
• Revolution