Jacques Jaujard

Jacques Jaujard
Born	Jacques Jaujard (1895-12-03)3 December 1895 Asnières-sur-Seine, Île-de-France
Died	21 June 1967(1967-06-21) (aged 71) Paris
Nationality	French
Occupation	Director of the French Musées Nationaux
Spouse	Jeanne Boitel
Awards	Légion d'honneur; Médaille de la Résistance

Jacques Jaujard (3 December 1895 – 21 June 1967) was a senior civil servant of the French fine art administration instrumental in the evacuation and protection of the French arts collections during World War II.[1]

Evacuation of the Louvre museum art collection during World War II

Main article: Evacuation of the Louvre museum art collection during World War II

During the Spanish Civil War in 1938, he supervised the evacuation of the Museo del Prado collections to Switzerland.

Before the German army arrived in Paris, and during the German occupation, and against the orders of the Vichy government, he organized the removal and safe storage, in the provinces (first in the Château de Chambord,[2] then in the Château de Sourches, Château de Saint-Blancard,[3] etc...) of the Louvre art collection, helped by curators Germain Bazin, André Chamson, and René Huyghe.[4][5][6]

With the help of Rose Valland, he was instrumental in the saving of the French arts collections during World War II.[1][7]

Franz von Wolff-Metternich, who was responsible of the conservation of the French art collections under the Kunstschutz principle, from 1940 to 1942, knew what was going on but voluntarily did not do anything. However, in 1942, Wolff-Metternich was recalled from France because he disagreed with the Nazis' looting, and at the end of the war, Jaujard had to hide in Lozère.[8]

Personal life

He met the actress Jeanne Boitel (who was in the resistance under the nickname Mozart) during his resistance activities, and married her later.[9]

Accolades

Jacques Jaujard was awarded the Légion d'honneur and Médaille de la Résistance for his actions during World War II. The main entrance of the École du Louvre is also named after him.[10]

References

1. "Illustre et Inconnu. Comment Jacques Jaujard a sauvé le Louvre". Grand Palais. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
2. "Le Louvre ou l'art de résister". Le Figaro. 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
3. "Œuvres d'art spoliées par les Nazis: le débat rebondit dans le Gers". La Dépêche du Midi. 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2018-01-13. Et le Gers a bénéficié du plan Rose Valland en récupérant les antiquités égyptiennes du Louvre qui ont été stockées au château de Saint-Blancard
4. "Saviour of France's art: how the Mona Lisa was spirited away from the Nazis". The Guardian. 2014-11-22. Retrieved 2018-01-13. On 25 August 1939, Jaujard closed the Louvre for three days, officially for repair work. For three days and nights, hundreds of staff, art students and employees of the Grands Magasins du Louvre department store carefully placed treasures in white wooden cases.
5. "Illustre & Inconnu: Comment Jacques Jaujard a sauvé le Louvre" (PDF). France 3. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
6. "JACQUES JAUJARD ET LA SAUVEGARDE DES ŒUVRES DU LOUVRE". resister-art-litterature.jimdo.com. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
7. "Jacques Jaujard ( 1895-1967 )". Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art. Retrieved 2018-01-10.
8. "In Memoriam - Jacques Jaujard". gallica.bnf.fr. 1968. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
9. "Jacques Jaujard (1895 - 1967): patrimoine". ensemble.presseregionaleprotestante.info. 2017-02-23. Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2018-01-12. Il fera connaissance d'une figure de la résistance, Jeanne Boitel, célèbre comédienne française engagée, de nom de code Mozart. Elle répertorie les œuvres séquestrées par les allemands et rencontre J. Jaujard pour discuter des œuvres qu'il a dissimulé. Il en devient fou amoureux, mais il est déjà marié. Il divorcera plusieurs années après leur rencontre
10. "Le Louvre Porte Jaujard". paris-autrement.paris. Retrieved 2018-01-13.

Bibliography

• Françoise Cachin; Collective (1997). "Un très grand directeur : Jacques Jaujard". Pillages et Restitutions: Le Destin des oeuvres d'art sorties de France pendant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale (in French). La Direction. ISBN 978-2-87660-208-3.
• Jean-Pierre Devillers (2015). Illustre et Inconnu. Comment Jacques Jaujard a sauvé le Louvre (Television production). Ladybirds Films.