Denon Prize 2026 Louvre Museum Application deadline: Jul 7, 2025

To reward research in art history, archaeology or museum studies, the Louvre Museum awards the Denon Prize to a young researcher who has defended their doctoral thesis on a theme concerning the museum and/or its collections, without restriction of period or geographical area, to allow for publication.This prize is created in tribute to Dominique-Vivant Denon (1747-1825), first director of the Louvre Museum and the national museums. This sum is taken from the financial income generated by the Majid Boustany Fund, within the Louvre Museum Endowment Fund. 

The prize Worth 12,000 euros, this prize will be awarded annually and on a permanent basis.€10,000 will be allocated to the publication of the work, under the responsibility of the Éditions du Louvre teams, accompanied by an additional €2,000 intended for the candidate, in order to remunerate the work of adapting his thesis for the final work.

Eligibility Requirements: The candidate must be under 40 years old. No nationality requirement is required. The unpublished thesis, written in French or English, must have been defended within the 5 years preceding the award ceremony.

Application procedures Application files will include the following documents:• the application form• a cover letter explaining the interest of the thesis for the Louvre• a curriculum vitae including references to publications• the report of the defense jury• a table of contents in anticipation of publication• a summary in anticipation of publication (5 pages)• an explanatory note mentioning the way in which the manuscript may be or has been reworked after the defense with a view to publication• the thesis manuscript in digital format

The call is open until midnight on July 7, 2025. Please send your application in two PDFs to recherche@louvre.fr with the subject line: “Denon Prize 2026”.

The selectionThe selection will be made by a jury composed of:• the President-Director of the Louvre, president of the jury• the director of Museum Studies and Research Support, in charge of the Dominique-Vivant Denon Center• a director of one of the departments of the Louvre Museum• the director in charge of Exhibitions and Editions of the Louvre• the patronThe prize will be awarded in early 2026. For any questions or requests for guidance, write to the Directorate of Museum Studies and Research Support at the address recherche@louvre.fr.