Research and Cultural Heritage: Partnership Agreement Signed Between Sorbonne University and the French National Assembly as Part of the “Digital Delacroix” Project
As part of the interdisciplinary project "Digital Delacroix", Nathalie Drach-Temam, President of Sorbonne University, and Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the French National Assembly (Assemblée nationale), signed an institutional partnership agreement on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. This agreement seals their joint commitment to the research, promotion, and sharing of our heritage. The signature took place in the context of the National Assembly’s restoration of the ceiling of the Library of the Palais Bourbon, painted by Eugène Delacroix.
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Alyssa Perrott
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01 44 27 47 01
This historic partnership is embodied in the “Digital Delacroix” project, an interdisciplinary endeavor combining artificial intelligence, 3D modeling, art history, and digital humanities. Thanks to this initiative, led by Professor Barthélemy Jobert, experts from Sorbonne University can now analyze with unprecedented precision the exceptional works of Eugène Delacroix and his assistants that adorn the ceilings of the library of the National Assembly, as well as the numerous letters written by the French painter, which offer a new perspective on his work and creative process.
This project exemplifies the union of heritage, the arts, and scientific innovation. It is an innovative initiative that mobilizes cutting-edge technologies to uncover the secrets and the great artistic and technical complexity of the monumental decor created by the master of Romanticism. This partnership between Sorbonne University and the National Assembly offers a unique opportunity to spotlight science, research, art history, and the enhancement of our shared heritage, with the ambition of making these works accessible to a wide audience, notably through the digitization of the visitor experience.
The “Digital Delacroix” project is structured around three key components:
- An art history and 3D modeling component, by the André Chastel Center, SCAI, and PLEMO 3D: a photographic campaign with ultra-high-quality images (over 10,000 photos) enabling an in-depth analysis of the artwork, revealing details invisible to the naked eye and forming an exceptional documentary base.
- An Artificial Intelligence component, by SCAI and LAMS, in collaboration with the French Museum Restoration Center: scientific analysis of the decor to identify areas painted by Delacroix and those done by his assistants.
- A Digital Humanities component, with ObTIC: the restoration contributes to a deeper analysis of Delacroix’s correspondence by leveraging text-mining techniques.
This project is generously supported by the Schmidt Sciences foundation, co-founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt.