Centre André-Chastel

What Centre André-Chastel does

Centre André-Chastel (UMR 8150) is a French public research laboratory dedicated exclusively to art history, established in its current configuration on January 1, 2004 through the merger of UMR 8597 and UMR 22. It operates under the triple institutional tutelage of the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Sorbonne Université's Faculty of Letters, and the French Ministry of Culture's Direction générale des Patrimoines. HCERES evaluations in 2018 and 2024 identified it as the only Unité Mixte de Recherche in France exclusively devoted to art history, and it received the highest A+ rating from AERES in 2013. The center's research is organized around six transversal themes spanning the medieval to contemporary periods and is physically hosted within the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA) at Galerie Colbert in Paris.

Its core offerings include the PLEMO 3D platform (founded 2015, co-founded by Dany Sandron and Eduard Antaluca) which provides 3D heritage digitization services using lasergrammetry, photogrammetry, digital microscopy, 3D modeling, and virtual visit creation — with international operations across Europe, North Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The center maintains specialized open-access scholarly databases including the Base d'images Théophile (stained glass and medieval sculpture), Correspondance Eugène Delacroix, Conbavil, Hortus (with the Versailles research center), Menus Plaisirs du roi, and the Hôtels parisiens du XVIIe siècle corpus. It publishes the Revue de l'Art journal (founded 1968) and the Éditions du Centre imprint for scholarly monographs, and runs the monthly 'Rencontres du Centre André-Chastel' conference series at INHA since 2012.

The center is funded entirely through public institutional channels — primarily CNRS, Sorbonne Université, and Ministry of Culture budget allocations, supplemented by regional grants via DIM Pamir and DIM STCN. It does not charge for access to research outputs, databases, or publications, and operates as a non-commercial scholarly institution. Its primary audiences are ~95 associated doctoral students, approximately 59 permanent research staff (CNRS, Sorbonne, DGP), heritage institutions and museums (Louvre, Centre Pompidou, Archives nationales, BnF), and exhibition organizers requiring scholarly expertise. Leadership transitioned on January 1, 2025 with Jean-Sébastien Cluzel as Director and Elisabeth Yota as Deputy Director.

Name

Centre André-Chastel

Legal name

Centre André-Chastel

Website

https://centrechastel.sorbonne-universite.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Centre André-Chastel (UMR 8150) is France's only public research laboratory exclusively devoted to art history, operating under CNRS, Sorbonne Université, and Ministry of Culture supervision, serving the scholarly community and heritage institutions with digital databases, the PLEMO 3D digitization platform, and the Revue de l'Art journal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanities & Arts Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Historic Preservation & Conservation Planning (BPAHAKAH), Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC), Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAI), Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

Keywords

• Art history research
• Heritage digitization
• Digital humanities
• Cultural heritage conservation
• Academic research laboratory

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: Government-funded research institution under triple tutelage: CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research), Sorbonne Université (Faculty of Letters), and Ministry of Culture (Direction générale des Patrimoines). UMR 8150 since January 1, 2004.
2. Research Grants: Receives funding through DIM (Domaine d'Intérêt Majeur) programs including DIM Pamir and DIM STCN for equipment acquisition.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Centre André-Chastel (UMR 8150) is a French public research laboratory dedicated to art history research spanning from the Middle Ages to the contemporary period. It operates under the triple tutelage of CNRS, Sorbonne Université (Faculty of Letters), and the Ministry of Culture (Direction générale des Patrimoines). The center conducts scholarly research, supervises doctoral training, provides expert heritage conservation guidance, publishes the Revue de l'Art journal, and operates the PLEMO 3D platform for 3D digitization of cultural heritage alongside multiple specialized scholarly databases.

Product overview

Centre André-Chastel is a research laboratory in art history (UMR 8150) that operates as a unified research institution rather than a commercial product company. Its main offerings include the core research unit itself, the PLEMO 3D platform for 3D digitization and heritage documentation services, and various scholarly databases including the Base d'images Théophile, Correspondance Eugène Delacroix, Conbavil, Hortus, and Menus Plaisirs du roi. The Centre also publishes the Revue de l'Art journal and digital editions of scholarly works. The PLEMO 3D platform provides technical services including lasergrammetry, photogrammetry, digital microscopy, 3D modeling, and virtual visit creation for heritage preservation and research purposes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PLEMO 3D: 3D digitization platform providing technical services for research and heritage preservation, including lasergrammetry, photogrammetry, digital microscopy, 3D modeling, and virtual visits. Founded in 2015 within the Faculty of Letters at Sorbonne Université.
• Corpus Vitrearum (French Committee)

Products and services

• PLEMO 3D Platform A 3D digitization platform providing technical services for heritage research, including lasergrammetry, photogrammetry (aerial and terrestrial), digital microscopy, 3D modeling, and virtual visits. Co-founded by Dany Sandron and Eduard Antaluca in partnership with CNRS and Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle.
• Revue de l'Art An academic peer-reviewed art history journal published by the Centre André-Chastel since 1968, providing peer-reviewed research dissemination to the international scholarly community.
• Base d'images Théophile

Quantifiable outcome

• A+ rating from AERES (2013) and positive HCERES evaluation (2018, 2024)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Académie de France à RomecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerItalian Renaissance studies partnership through the French Academy in Rome, supporting research stays and international collaboration in art history.
• Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINHA hosts the center in Galerie Colbert and provides shared research facilities, documentation centers, and seminar spaces.
• Musée du LouvrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on museum collections, exhibition curation, and heritage documentation projects.
• Centre Georges-PompidouminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerModern and contemporary art research collaboration with the national modern art museum.
• Centre de recherche du château de VersaillescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShared garden history research database (Hortus) and collaborative projects on French heritage and court culture.
• Muséum national d'Histoire naturelleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting PLEMO 3D platform development and heritage digitization methodology.
• Bibliothèque nationale de FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchival research support and bibliographic resources for art history scholarship.
• Kunsthistorisches Institut (Florence)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational art history research collaboration with the German art history institute in Florence.
• Villa I Tatti (Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarvard's Italian Renaissance research center in Florence, supporting fellowships and international scholarly exchange.
• Université de MontréalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCanadian university partnership for art history research and doctoral exchanges.
• Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (International)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research structure dedicated to studying and conserving stained glass, working with 14 member countries on publication standards.
• SACADO (Sorbonne Université)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerService ensuring digital data perpetuation, safeguarding, and archiving for heritage digitization projects.
• Consortium 3D (Huma-Num/CNRS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational infrastructure consortium for archiving and managing 3D digital heritage data.
• École française de RomeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench school in Rome supporting Mediterranean art history research.
• Cité du vitrail de TroyesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner for stained glass research and exhibition in Champagne region.
• Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (Munich)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman art history institute in Munich supporting Central European research networks.
• Observatoire des Patrimoines de Sorbonne Université (OPUS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity heritage observatory supporting interdisciplinary research on cultural heritage preservation.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Centre de recherche du château de Versailles: French research center dedicated to the history of the château de Versailles and court culture. Co-maintains the Hortus database with Centre André-Chastel and conducts directly comparable art history and heritage research, making it a closely related peer institution.
• École française de Rome: French research school in Rome supporting research in history, archaeology, and art history. Both institutions are French public research entities operating internationally, conducting art history research, and supporting doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships.
• Villa I Tatti (Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies): Harvard's center for Italian Renaissance studies and a core strategic partner of Centre André-Chastel. Both are internationally focused art history research centers with fellowship programs, scholarly publications, and strong doctoral training missions.
• Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte (Munich): German national art history research institute with which Centre André-Chastel maintains a strategic partnership. Comparable in function as a dedicated national art history research center with library services, doctoral training, and international research collaboration.
• Warburg Institute (University of London): UK-based research institution dedicated to the study of classical philosophy, art history, and cultural history. Comparable in mission as a dedicated humanities research center with library, archive, and doctoral training programs oriented toward interdisciplinary art historical research.
• Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (Max Planck Institute): German-Italian art history research institute with which Centre André-Chastel maintains a core strategic partnership. Both institutions conduct internationally-oriented art history research, supervise doctoral candidates, and produce scholarly publications and databases, making them directly comparable in mission and scope.
• INHA (Institut national d'histoire de l'art): French national institute for art history research and documentation that physically hosts Centre André-Chastel within its Galerie Colbert premises. Both institutions focus on art history research and share researchers, facilities, and the national library/documentation center, making INHA the closest institutional peer.

Broad incumbents

• Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF): French national library and a core strategic partner of Centre André-Chastel. While much broader in scope, it supports art history research through archival holdings, bibliographic resources, and digital humanities infrastructure directly used by Centre André-Chastel researchers.
• Getty Research Institute: Large US-based research institute with extensive programs in art history, conservation, and humanities scholarship. While broader in scope and better resourced, it conducts directly comparable research, hosts scholarly databases, and supports digital humanities initiatives that overlap with Centre André-Chastel's mission.

Emerging players

• Musée du Louvre - Département des études et de la recherche: The Louvre's research department conducts art history research and curatorial scholarship that overlaps with Centre André-Chastel's mission. As a strategic partner for collection research, exhibition curation, and heritage documentation projects, it represents an institutional peer for applied art history research in a museum context.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCF_c7KB8xU-bUPjeVH0uC_w
• Instagraminstagram.com/centreandrechastel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-andr%C3%A9-chastel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre André-Chastel