Françoise Cachin

Françoise Cachin (8 May 1936, Paris – 4 February 2011, Paris) was a French art historian and curator. She was the founding director of the Musée d’Orsay and the author of numerous books on 19th-century French painting.

Françoise Cachin
Françoise Cachin in 1996
Born	8 May 1936 Paris, France
Died	4 February 2011(2011-02-04) (aged 74) Paris, France
Nationality	French
Occupation	Art historian

Life

Françoise Cachin was born to the pediatrician Charles Cachin and his wife Ginette (née Signac).^[1] Her grandparents included the communist politician Marcel Cachin and the pointillist painters Paul Signac and Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange.^[2]

Cachin studied art history under André Chastel at the Institut d'Art et d'Archéologie of the University of Paris.^[2] After training at the Louvre and the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume, she worked as a curator at the Musée National d'Art Moderne from 1969 to 1978, eventually becoming chief curator.^[2] In this capacity she organized numerous exhibitions, including an important Paul Klee retrospective, and oversaw the museum's move from the Palais de Tokyo to the new Centre Georges Pompidou.^[2]

In 1978 Cachin joined the planning team for the new Musée d'Orsay.^[1] During this time she continued to organize exhibitions, including a major Manet retrospective in 1983.^[1] When the Musée d'Orsay opened in 1986 she was named director, and in this role organized retrospectives of Paul Gauguin (1989) and Georges Seurat (1991).^[1]

In 1994 Cachin left the head of the Musée d'Orsay and assumed the post of Director of French Museums, which carried the responsibility for over 1,000 museums across France.^[2] Despite this, she still found time to compile a catalogue raisonné of works by her grandfather Paul Signac, which was published in 2000.^[2]

Cachin retired from her directorial position in 2001 but remained active in the museum world. She helped found the French Regional & American Museums Exchange (FRAME),^[1] and (unsuccessfully) lead opposition to the Louvre's plan to construct the Louvre Abu Dhabi.^[2] In 2009 she was named a Grand Officier of the Ordre national du Mérite.^[3]

Cachin died on 4 February 2011 of amyloidosis, aged 74.^[2] She was at work editing the journals of Paul Signac.^[4]

Selected works

• Cachin, Françoise; Moffett, Charles S.; Wilson-Bareau, Juliet (1983). Manet, 1832 – 1883: Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris April 22 – August 8, 1983; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York September 10 – November 27, 1983. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0870993497.
• Gauguin : « Ce malgré moi de sauvage », collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 49), série Arts. Éditions Gallimard, 1989, new edition in 2017^[5]
  • UK edition – Gauguin: The Quest for Paradise, 'New Horizons' series. Thames & Hudson, 1992
  • US edition – Gauguin: The Quest for Paradise, "Abrams Discoveries" series. Harry N. Abrams, 1992
• Seurat : Le rêve de l'art-science, collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 108), série Arts. Éditions Gallimard, 1991
• Manet : « J'ai fait ce que j'ai vu », collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 203), série Arts. Éditions Gallimard, 1994, new edition in 2011^[6]
  • UK edition – Manet: Painter of Modern Life, 'New Horizons' series. Thames & Hudson, 1995
  • US edition – Manet: The Influence of the Modern, "Abrams Discoveries" series. Harry N. Abrams, 1995