Abstract
Appointed first to the Direction (1940) and then to the Secrétariat Général des Beaux-Arts (1941) until his position was upgraded in 1944, art historian Louis Hautecœur (1884-1973) reached the peak of his professional career during the Vichy years. His position was closely linked to Marshal Pétain's government. To what extent did Hautecœur share its political ideology and collaborationist leanings? To what extent were his interpretations of French architectural history and culture, and the skills he acquired in the fields of architectural education, heritage protection and museography, mobilized within the regime? Far from isolating the Vichy period, this paper will attempt to put Hautecœur's actions into perspective in relation to his wider career. Using a few key examples, we'll show how the Direction des Beaux-Arts under Vichy also enabled the realization of ideas and projects that were already taking shape between the wars, especially in the 1930s.
