''Connaissance des arts'' is a monthly French

art magazine An art magazine is a publication that focuses on the topic of art. They can be in printed form, found online or both and can be aimed at different audiences which includes galleries, art buyers, amateur or professional artists and the general publi ...

devoted to the arts and their current events, published since March 1952 by the French Society for the Promotion of Art. Its headquarters are on the 10 Boulevard de Grenelle, 75015 Paris. In 2019-2020, the total of its distribution was around 45000 copies.

History

The magazine ''Connaissance des arts'' was founded by Humbert Frèrejean and Didier-W Rémon within the Réalités group with which it shares the building at 13, rue Saint-Georges in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The first number was published in 1952 under the title ''Connoisseur'', the monthly guide for art lovers by the

Hachette group Hachette Livre S.A. (; simply known as Hachette) is a French publishing group that was based in Paris. It was founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif which later became successively L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, Hachette ...

, but due to the proximity of the name to the American magazine

Connoisseur A connoisseur (French language, French Reforms of French orthography, traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge ...

, it will appear in the second issue under the title ''Connaissance des arts''. The magazine adopts, under the direction of Francis Spar, a rather broad editorial line covering the arts since antiquity, modern art, decoration and the description of objects of art at all times. It was bought in 1975 by the Jodidio family and under the direction of Philip Jodidio, is also oriented towards architecture, museology, large collections. In 1989 the first special issue appeared. In the 1990s, the magazine increasingly followed contemporary art. In April 2000, ''Connaissance des arts'' was acquired by the luxury group

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

(through the Les Échos-

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...

group) and, in 2002, Guy Boyer replaced Philip Jodidio. In 2019, ''Connaissance des Arts'' became a 48% shareholder of the company Agence d'Evénements Culturels which organizes the Paris-based arts fairs Fine Arts Paris and Salon du dessin, the magazine's first foray into events. In 2021, LVMH bought the arts books editing company Citadelles & Mazenod and merged it in ''Connaissance des Arts''.

Sources

1952 establishments in France Contemporary art magazines LVMH brands Monthly magazines published in France Visual arts magazines {{Europe-mag-stub