"Culture is not a commodity,” to quote Jacques Chirac. The late French president held the arts in high esteem, with a passion for artefacts from non-European societies. Chirac brought Islamic arts into the Louvre and signed off on the prestigious gallery's expansion to Lens in the north of France as well as its newest outpost in Abu Dhabi.
As the initiator of the Quai Branly museum, which now bears his name, Chirac expanded the French state’s collections to include important acquisitions from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. We take a look back at his cultural legacy following his death at 86 years old.
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