Robert Fohr


Robert Fohr is a French art historian, translator and author. Since 2006 he has been head of the Sponsorship Mission at the French Ministry of Culture.
Between 1981 and 1983 he was resident pensionnaire at the French Academy in Rome.
In 2008 he received the Paul Marmottan prize from the Paris Academy of Fine Arts for his monograph ''Georges de La Tour le maître des nuits.''

Biography

He was born into a French family of Austrian and Lorraine origin and Catholic faith.
After completing his higher education at the Lycée Henri-IV and the Paris-Sorbonne University, he was a resident at the French Academy in Rome from 1981 to 1983. He then worked in publishing and journalism, before joining the Ministry of Culture in February 1992 as head of communications for the French Museums Directorate, where he worked successively with three directors: Jacques Sallois, advisor to the Court of Auditors and first director of the office of Jacques Lang, Minister of Culture; Françoise Cachin, general curator of heritage and former director of the Musée d'Orsay; and Francine Mariani-Ducray, civil administrator and advisor to the Council of State. As a result, he was involved in the major movement to renew France's museums, as well as in issues relating to Nazi spoliation and restitution. In particular, he was responsible for designing and organizing the symposium Pillages et restitutions. Le destin des œuvres d'art sorties de France pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale .
From February 2006 to April 2022, Robert Fohr headed the Ministry of Culture's patronage mission working to promote cultural patronage, disseminate the incentives provided for in Law No. 2003-709 of August 1, 2003 on patronage, associations, and foundations, and develop best practices. In this capacity, his department has engaged the Ministry of Culture in partnerships with institutions in the economic and legal worlds and set up a program of recognized thematic meetings, the “Jeudis du mécénat”.As part of his duties, Robert Fohr represented the Minister of Culture on the board of directors of the Fondation de France from 2006 to 2022 and participated in numerous events related to patronage and foundations, including internationally. He is also intuitu personae administrator of the Pierre Mercier Archaeological Foundation, recognized as a public utility, the AG2R La Mondiale Corporate Foundation for Artistic Vitality, the LaVita association, and The Beit Project France association. In the field of finance, he is also a director of the Société locale d'épargne Paris Est of the Groupe Caisse d'Épargne Ile-de-France. He is a member of the French section of the International Association of Art Critics and a member of ICOM France.
A historian and art historian by training, in 2018 he received the Paul-Marmottan Prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts for his monograph Georges de La Tour, le maître des nuits.
In May 2022, he was elevated to the rank of Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, an honor bestowed upon him by Jean-Jacques Aillagon, former Minister of Culture.
Robert Fohr is the father of two children, born from his marriage to Isabelle Bénignus Van Brabant, pianist and composer: Oriane Fohr, born in December 1985, cellist, and Pierre-Louis Fohr, born in April 1991, architect.

Works

Tout l'œuvre peint de Bruegel l'Ancien Inventaire des collections publiques françaises Tours, musée des Beaux-Arts Patrice Alexandre Tout l'œuvre peint d'Ingres Tout l'œuvre peint de Vermeer La norme et le caprice redécouvertes en art aspects du goût... Rediscoveries in art... Guy Brunet l'horizon de l'atelier Chagall: la période russe Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1720-1778... Georges de La Tour le maître des nuits