Jean-Maurice Rouquette died Tuesday, January 22, 2019, in Arles.

He was the director of the Musée Réattu for several decades, the founder of the Parc Naturel Régional de Camargue, and the creator of the Musée Archéologique de l’Arles Antique at the end of the last century.
His energy and tenacity brought to light the Arles' extraordinary heritage.
He was one of the founding members and a staunch supporter of the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie, after having been one of the first European museum directors to enrich his institution's collection ponsible through photographic acquisitions.

His erudition was surpassed only by his generosity, his humor by his wit; he suggested to certain visitors concerned with "modernity" that perhaps everything had already been written, drawn, painted, and sculpted some 500 years before our era, in Archaic Greece.
This remark was always followed by a roar of laughter that confounded his audience. As humanist and educator, he often shunned the beaten path ...

A unique and remarkable man, a man we loved, has passed away.

Hubert Védrine, President, Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie d’Arles,
Sam Stourdzé, Director,
The Board of Directors and all of us at the Rencontres d’Arles

A tribute will be paid to him in the vestibule of the Arles Town Hall at 3 p.m. on Friday, January 25.

Photo:
Jean-Maurice Rouquette by David Balicki, Arles 2005.