Arts and humanities

Meeting Research

Series of interviews at the UFR ARSH library - 2nd semester 25-26

> Thursday, February 5, 2026 - 11:30 a.m. - UFR ARSH Library
Interview with Charlotte Foucher Zarmanian, art historian and research director at the CNRS, who will present her book "La conquête d'une autorité. Historiennes de l’art en France" (The Conquest of Authority: Women Art Historiansin France).

A history of art in France viewed from the perspective of women.
Intertwining women, art, and knowledge means telling the story of a conquest: the conquest of authority. Making a name for oneself, being recognized for one's work, feeling legitimate in one's field: this process was achieved by embracing or circumventing social expectations within intellectual and institutional circles that were not initially favorable to women.
Situated at the intersection of the history of knowledge, the sociology of professions, and the history of gender, this book offers a history of art in France from the perspective of women.
Spanning nearly two centuries, it unfolds in three stages:

• the era of breakthroughs when women experimented with ways of writing before art history became a science (before 1900);
• the period of legitimization, based on the need to work on reserved or neglected areas in order to better prepare for their entry (1900-1945);
• the period of expansion, when many fields were occupied thanks to expertise that was now more widely and equitably shared (1945-1970).