Philippe de Montebello (born in Paris in 1936) is a curator of a museum of French origin installed with the the United States. It off directs the Metropolitan Museum Art of New York since 1977.

Biography

Guy Philippe Henri Lannes de Montebello was born with Paris in 1936 in a family from the Napoleonean aristocracy (one of its ancestors, Jean Lannes, was duke of Montebello and Marshal of France).

• His/her father, the count Roger Lannes de Montebello, is a portraitist and critic art, which, during the Second world war, takes part in the resistance.
• His/her mother, German Wiener de Croisset, goes down from the Marquis de Sade.

The family of Montebello leaves for New York in 1951. But whereas his/her brothers turn over to France, Philippe de Montebello remains in the United States and is naturalized American in 1955.

He attends the French Lycée of New York and obtains his baccalaureat in 1958. Then it continues studies in history of art to the Université Harvard, where it obtains a Magna cum laude . Then, he studies with the Institute off Fine Arts under Charles Sterling, an expert of the French Rebirth of the Université of New York. He obtains his doctorate in 1963 and enters to the Met as assistant of the conservative of European paintings.

Put aside one period of four years and half with the Museum of the fine arts of Houston, it devotes its career to the Met, of which he becomes the director in 1977. It gets busy to double the surface of the establishment, renovates the gallery of European paintings of the 19th century, emphasizes tables large size of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. He was criticized for his conservatism with respect to the contemporary art. He off takes part in the formation of the Association Art Museum Curators in 2001.

Rewards

He is made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1991, then receives the National Medal off Arts in 2002.

See too

References

External bond

• Interview of Montebello, Apollo magazine