The FARMO Scholarship
2027–2029 Call for Applications – Doctoral Research Fellowship
*(submissions closing 09/30/2026)
For the fifth consecutive year, the Foundation of the Friends for the Advancement of the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie (FARMO), hosted by the Fondation de France, is delighted to announce the opening of applications for its Doctoral Research Fellowship. In close alignment with the research ambitions of the Public Establishment of the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie – Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, this fellowship is intended for PhD candidates in the field of art history.
The FARMO Scholarship
The FARMO is renewing its triannual doctoral scholarship supporting a young researcher for the duration of three years (2024-2026). This scholarship fits into the prefiguration of the Orsay Museum’s ‘Centre de Ressources et Recherches (Center of Resources and Research or CRR) – Daniel Marchesseau.’ In 2022, three doctoral students were selected for the first edition of the FARMO Scholarship.
The yearly bonus amounts to 10 000 €, over a non-renewable period of three years.
The scholarship supports a thesis project in the field of 19th-century and early 20th-century art history. It aims to encourage research on the collections (painting, sculpture, decorative arts, graphic arts, photography, architecture and prints) as well as on documentary sources (archives, correspondence, previously unpublished manuscripts) held by the Orsay and Orangerie museums. More broadly, it also supports projects that shed new light on works, artists, and the artistic context of this period, including topics such as the art market, the history of the collections and the profiles of collectors, exhibitions and the circulation of artworks, art criticism, professional and social networks, cultural policies, urban development, artistic and cultural transfers, art education, technical and material aspects, among others.
The research may draw on a range of methodological approaches, which should be clearly set out in the thesis proposal. The jury will pay close attention to the ways in which projects engage with questions of representation, environmental humanities, and an approach to art history that is resolutely cross-disciplinary, transnational and decentred. The jury will assess the scholarly excellence of the proposal as well as the clarity of its presentation. The application must establish the state of the art within which the project is situated and clearly define the scholarly significance of the research question it addresses.
Research environment : the laureates will be provided with a dedicated workspace in the reading rooms of the Musée d’Orsay documentation centre, together with privileged access to CRR’s resources and the EPMO’s collections. They will also receive guidance from the EPMO’s scientific teams. The laureates will be required to present regular updates on the progress of their research to the EPMO’s scientific teams, the FARMO’s Executive Committee, and, where applicable, the patron supporting the scholarship. They agree to acknowledge the FARMO’s support in their research output and publications. A copy of the thesis manuscript must be submitted to the CRR.
Eligibility Criteria : Applicants may be either newly enrolled in a PhD programme or already pursuing doctoral research. However, they must be eligible to remain enrolled at their university throughout the three consecutive years covered by the fellowship. Recipients are expected to defend their doctoral thesis within two years following the end of the fellowship. Applications are welcome from candidates enrolled at French, European, and non-European universities. Applicants enrolled outside French universities must demonstrate a good command of either French or English, both written and spoken. In addition, a research stay at the Musée d’Orsay must be planned during the fellowship period.
The FARMO Scholarship: 2025 Laureates
Victoria Chiado Orblin, The Historiography of the Pont-Aven School, University of Poitiers and the École du Louvre, under the joint supervision of Claire Barbillon and François-René Martin.
Ariane Serck, “Drawing Threads, Weaving Connections”: The Creation, Representation and Theory of Clothing in the Work of Swedish Women Artists around 1900, EHESS, under the supervision of Charlotte Foucher-Zarmanian.
The jury also awarded a mobility scholarship to: Joséphine Hein, Paul Cassirer and the Importance of the Franco-German Art Trade in the International Circulation of Modern Art: An Art Historical, Economic and Political Perspective, Technische Universität Berlin, under the supervision of Bénédicte Savoy.
The jury for the third edition of the FARMO Scholarship comprised:
- Laurent Bourgois, President of the FARMO,
- Paul Perrin, Director of Conservation andCollections,
- France Nerlich, Director-designate of the Centre for Researchand Resources,
- Laure Chabanne, Curator, Musée d’Orsay,
- Jérémie Cerman, Professor of Art History, Université d’Artois,
- Guillaume Le Gall, Professor of Art History, Sorbonne Université,
- Kerstin Thomas, Professor of Art History, University of Stuttgart
The FARMO Scholarship: 2024 Laureates
Élise Wehr, The Historicisation of Impressionism in France: A Political andTransnational Approach (1945–1989), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonneand the École du Louvre, under the supervision of Catherine Méneux andMichela Passini.
Gabriele Romani, Knowledge of the Body: Italian Models between Rome and Paris (1850–1920), Université Bordeaux Montaigne and Roma Tre University, under the supervision of Hélène Trespeuch, Marion Lagrange and Laura Iamurri.
The jury awarded a special commendation to: Maréva Briaud, Architecture, Craftsmanship and Commerce: The Making of Polychrome Ceramic Façades in Paris (1827–1914), Doctoral School of History, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, under the supervision of Valérie Nègre.
The jury for the fourth edition of the FARMO Scholarship comprised:
- Laurent Bourgois, President of the FARMO,
- Paul Perrin, Director of Conservation and Collections, Musée d’Orsay,
- France Nerlich, Director-designate of the Daniel Marchesseau Centre for Research and Resources, Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie,
- Daniel Marchesseau, Honorary Chief Curator,
- Laure Chabanne, Curator, Musée d’Orsay,
- Kerstin Thomas, Professor of Art History, University of Stuttgart,
- Guillaume Le Gall, Professor of Art History, Sorbonne Université,
- Jérémie Cerman, Professor of Art History, Université d’Artois
The FARMO Scholarship: 2023 Laureates
- Emma Dechorgnat is the recipient of the FARMO Scholarship with the support of François de Ricqlès for her dissertation titled “Frederick Hollyer (1838–1933) and the Photographic Dissemination of British Art in France”, conducted at the École du Louvre and the École Doctorale 131 of the Université de Paris Cité, under the supervision of Caroline Corbeau-Parsons and Frédéric Ogée.
- Nina Meisel is a recipient of the FARMO Scholarship for her dissertation titled “Fine Arts and Decorative Arts: Toward a Comparative History of the Trajectories of Women in Fine Arts and Industrial Arts (1860–1914)”, conducted at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, under the supervision of Bertrand Tillier.
- Lucie Montassier is a recipient of the FARMO Scholarship for her dissertation titled “Travel and Residence in Italy by European and American Women Sculptors (1850–1914)”, conducted at Université de Poitiers, under the supervision of Claire Barbillon.
As part of a partnership with the Malatier-Jacquet Foundation, housed within the Fondation de France, FARMO has awarded a fourth scholarship, under the same financial support conditions (€10,000 per year for three years), to Manon Lebreton for her dissertation titled “Gender and Historiography: Women Artists in Art Discourse from 1860 to 1928”, conducted at the École du Louvre and the CNRS, under the supervision of Michela Passini.
Additionally, thanks to the support of Daniel Marchesseau, a special grant of €10,000 for one year has been awarded to Maximin Cousy Barbereau for his dissertation titled “Censorship and Political Control of the Arts in the Republic (1870–1914)”, conducted at Sciences Po, Centre d’Histoire, under the supervision of Laurence Bertrand Dorléac.
The jury for this inaugural scholarship consisted of:
- François Blanchetière, Chief Curator at the Musée d’Orsay,
- Laurent Bourgois, President of FARMO,
- Laure Chabanne, Chief Curator of Painting at the Musée d’Orsay,
- Rossella Froissart, Director of Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études,
- Paul Perrin, Director of Conservation and Collections,
- Julie Ramos, Professor of Contemporary Art History at the University of Strasbourg,
- Julie Verlaine, Senior Lecturer (HDR) in Contemporary Cultural History at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
The FARMO Scholarship: 2022 Laureates
- Clémence Rinaldi, for her thesis on “Salons of one’s own: separatist strategy and feminine solidarity in artistic circles at the turn of the century (19th-20th centuries),” completed at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University under the direction of Pascal Rousseau and Julie Ramos (University of Strasbourg).
- Camille Philippon, for her thesis on “Louis Vauxcelles (1900-1914): the beginnings of an art critic on the pre-war Parisian scene,” completed at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University under the direction of Marie Gispert and Catherine Méneux.
The jury wished to award an exceptional, one-year scholarship to Héléna Lichy for having contributed to the completion of her thesis dedicated to “Jules Jacquemart (1837-1880),” carried out within the dual framework of the Doctoral School 395 of Paris-Nanterre under the direction of Rémi Labrusse and a graduate of the Ecole du Louvre’s third cycle, under the direction of Manuela Moscatiello.
Moreover, in partnership with the Fondation Malatier-Jacquet under the auspices of the Fondation de France, the FARMO granted a third scholarship, awarded with the same financial conditions (10 000 € per year, over three years) to: Oriane Poret, “Rosa Bonheur’s quest for the animal model (1822-1899). Travels, networks, collections,” completed at the Lumière Lyon 2 University under the direction of Laurent Baridon, within the scope of LARHRA UMR 5190, Institute of Human Sciences.
The jury of this first scholarship is composed of:
- François Blanchetière, Chief Conservator of the Orsay Museum
- Laurent Bourgois, President of the FARMO
- Laure Chabanne, Chief Conservator of Painting at the Orsay Museum
- Rossella Froissart, Director of Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
- Paul Perrin, Director of Conservation and the Collections
- Julie Ramos, Professor of Contemporary Art History at the University of Strasbourg
- Julie Verlaine, HDR Lecturer in Contemporary Cultural History at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University