In September 2021, Christophe Leribault was announced as the new director of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and its affiliate, the Musée de l’Orangerie. He replaced Laurence des Cars, who became the first female director of the Louvre. Previously, he served as the director of the Petit Palais, an art museum in Paris. During his time there, he implemented a series of world-class exhibitions.
Before joining the Petit Palais in 2021, Leribault was a curator at the Louvre and the director of the Musée Delacroix. In his role at the Musée d’Orsay, he is overseeing the institution’s expansion project, Orsay Wide Open. The development involves building centres for research and education, and expanding the exhibition space. The museum will also create a new wing by converting 13,000 square feet of office space. Galleries in the new wing will showcase the Musée d’Orsay’s Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection.
Leribault, who arrived at the museum in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, told French publication Le Point: “It is a period of depleted financial resources, sponsorship is now very difficult to find.”
“The museum public has also changed a little,” he added. “[There are] a lot less foreign tourists, of course, but also more young people who, unable to travel or go out, have rediscovered museums. In fact, I believe this is a good time to refocus. Orsay can no longer be a tourist factory. The French, the Parisians in particular, and the public usually inhibited by museums, must be able to reclaim places.”