A specialist in European art from the 17th and 18th centuries, Xavier Salmon is Director of the

Department of Graphic Arts at the Louvre Museum. He was previously curator of 18th century paintings and graphic arts at the Palace of Versailles, head of the general inspection of museums at the Ministry of Culture and director of the heritage and collections of the Château de Fontainebleau.He curated numerous exhibitions including the retrospectives «Jean-Marc Nattier», «Maurice Quentin de La Tour. The Thief of Souls» and «Alexander Roslin. A portraitist for Europe» at Versailles, «Madame de Pompadour et les arts» also at Versailles, «Marie-Antoinette» and «Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun» at the Grand Palais in Paris. In 2014, he received the Grand Prix of the French Academy for his book: Fontainebleau. The time of the Italians. He dedicated part of his work to French pastels of the 18th century. He is also credited with several books dedicated to Moroccan heritage. A selection of his photographs of Saadian architecture in Morocco were exhibited at the Mouassine museum and the Badi Palace in Marrackech in 2016. He is a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters and First Class Officer of the Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star.