Versailles Gets a New President: Former Christie's Chief Guillaume Cerutti Takes Charge
The Palace of Versailles has a new president. After eight months without a permanent head, Guillaume Cerutti, the former global chief executive of Christie’s, has been named to lead the palace, its museum and its gardens, and he takes office on Monday 9 November 2026.
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What: Guillaume Cerutti appointed president of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles
Where: Château de Versailles, France
When: Appointed by President Emmanuel Macron on 4 November 2026; takes office on 9 November
Who: Cerutti, 60, former head of Sotheby’s France and global chief executive of Christie’s; he succeeds Christophe Leribault, now at the Louvre
Section: Places & Heritage
What happened
According to The Art Newspaper and TIME France, Cerutti was appointed after the post had been vacant for eight months. His predecessor, Christophe Leribault, left Versailles in February to become president and director of the Louvre, and the palace had been run on an interim basis since then. TIME France reports that the appointment was made by President Emmanuel Macron on 4 November and that Cerutti takes up his duties on 9 November.
The appointment brings Cerutti back to public service after some twenty years in the art market. A graduate of the École nationale d’administration, he worked at the Centre Pompidou alongside Jean-Jacques Aillagon and then served as his chief of staff at the Ministry of Culture. He became head of Sotheby’s France in 2007, joined Christie’s in 2015 and later became its global chief executive. In January 2025 he was appointed president of the Pinault Collection, but he stepped down after about a year. In another twist, The Art Newspaper notes, he now follows his former mentor Aillagon, who ran Versailles from 2007 to 2011.
Why it matters
Versailles is one of the most visited heritage sites in the world and one of the largest cultural institutions in France, responsible for the palace, the Trianons, the gardens and a vast collection of paintings, sculpture and furniture. TIME France lists the challenges ahead: paying for restorations, keeping the estate secure and attracting new audiences without losing sight of conservation. Cerutti’s reputation as a manager who knows both government and private patrons, and his early work on France’s 2003 law on cultural sponsorship, are likely to shape how the palace funds its next projects.
The painting behind the story
Much of what visitors admire at Versailles was designed by one man. Charles Le Brun, named First Painter to Louis XIV in 1662, was put in charge of decorating the palace down to the smallest details. He painted the great ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors (1679–84) and the Salons of War and Peace, and designed the Apollo Fountain in the gardens. Before that, the king had commissioned from him a series of huge canvases on the life of Alexander the Great, a hero Louis liked to be compared with. In Alexander and Porus (1673), the young conqueror rides up to the defeated Indian king, who is carried wounded on a shield, and treats him with generosity: a lesson in royal magnanimity painted for the Sun King. For another Baroque palace ceiling, see Pietro da Cortona’s Barberini ceiling in our Sant’Ivo story.
Hang Le Brun’s Alexander and Porus — the conqueror, the wounded king and a gilded frame fit for the Sun King — as a vintage art poster from the Sapiens Verbum print shop.
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Prefer the original? Hang Le Brun’s Alexander and Porus — the conqueror, the wounded king and the grand theatre of the age of Louis XIV — as a print, canvas or framed print from the Sapiens Verbum print shop.
Choose your size and frame →Le Brun’s Alexander Entering Babylon →Printed and shipped by Fine Art America · 30-day money-back guarantee
💬 Over to you: What should Versailles’ new president do first: restore, secure or open new rooms? And where in the world are you reading from? Tell us in the comments.
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