Cynthia Prieur is currently at the ABD stage of her PhD. Her dissertation will focus on the fate of Pietro Perugino’s paintings after they were appropriated by the French army from Perugia in 1797 and taken to France. She enjoys the interdisciplinary nature of her research, which covers the history of French painting restoration at the Louvre Museum, the role of the museum in legitimizing art appropriations, the development of cultural heritage laws in France, and historical instances of art appropriation. Cynthia has previous experience working at Sotheby’s Auction House in London, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, the Harvard Art Museums in Boston, and the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna.
The lasting effects of Napoleon's appropriations can still be observed today in churches and public buildings in Perugia, which remain bereft of the treasures that had once adorned them.
The lasting effects of Napoleon's appropriations can still be observed today in churches and public buildings in Perugia, which remain bereft of the treasures that had once adorned them.
The Louvre Museum opened its doors on August 10, 1793 as the Muséum Français, but by today’s standards the methods used to assemble the collection would be considered unethical.