The Public’s role in shaping the Art Museum.
Art museums are magnificent. They house culture and creativity. They are often breath-taking works of art in their own right. They are a major player in business of tourism. They revive cites and shape our urban landscape. Art Museums (or indeed the people in the business of art museums) are conscious of their cultural impact on the public. As they rely on revenue from the public, art museums in turn inevitably are affected by public opinion. It is a symbiotic relationship. A relationship that touches government, tourism, business, art, education, etc.
This case study will look at both the Louvre and the Prado as classic houses of art with a large history dating back to the 1700’s. The Lourve, originally a fortress, was first transformed into the grand residence of Louis XIV before becoming a place for public art display. The Prado, originally designed as a Science Museum, began as the private collection of Isabella and was constantly at the whim of the tastes of the ruling classes. These two museums have had to readdress what it is to be an Art Museum in the modern age. In compliment to this I would also like to take a look at the construction of the Tate and to see how art museums today are building their foundations within the public eye.
A general site containing a database of overviews on artist and art galleries.
www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home_flash.jsp?bmLocale=en
Official website of the Lourve.
www.spanisharts.com/prado/prado.htm
www.tate.org.uk/modern/transformingtm/
museoprado.mcu.es/ihome.html
Official Website of the Prado.
query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9A04E3D81030F933A15755C0A9629C8B63
New York Times Travel article on the Prado