10064 - Museology and History of Collecting

Learning outcomes

Through the history of collecting from the origin the student is led to the understanding of the birth of the concept of museum and its applications. At the end of the course he/she is able to investigate the history of individual museums in their various events, to understand their development for cognitive purposes and enhancement and protection.

Course contents

The course focuses on the history of collecting with regards to the museum institution, with particular reference to the history of sacred art collecting in the modern centuries.

Readings/Bibliography

1. M. T. Fiorio, Il museo nella storia. Dallo studiolo alla raccolta pubblica, Pearson Italia, Milano-Torino 2018

2. G. Bazin, Le temps des Musèes, Edifir - edizioni Firenze, Firenze 2018

3. F. Haskell, Mecenati e pittori, Sansoni editore, Firenze 1966

4. J. Clair, La crisi dei musei. La globalizzazione della cultura, Skira, Milano 2008

Teaching methods

Lessons will be held remotely.

The frontal lessons will be supplemented with visits to art galleries and museums.

This initiative is within the limits granted by the country's health conditions.

Assessment methods

Oral examination.

The verification of the learning takes place through the oral examination alone, aimed at ascertaining the critical knowledge and skills acquired by the student during the educational path.

The candidate will be led to demonstrate the acquired awareness of the times and ways of the history of collecting and the evolution of the great collections towards public use, the creation of the first museums, the history of the wunderkammern in reference also to today's museums of natural sciences, in order to attest the acquired awareness of the variations from the century of enlightenment to our times of the enjoyment of works of art and the need for a firm critical awareness.

The mastery of the content, the appropriate expression and the appropriate language for the subject matter, as well as the ability to summarize and analyse the concepts discussed in the lessons, will be assessed.

The understanding of the issues related to the history of art through the history of ancient and contemporary collecting and museology, the mastery of the specific language of the discipline and, of course, the in-depth knowledge of the texts of the program, will be evaluated with excellent votes.

The only mnemonic knowledge of matter, the ability to synthesis and analysis not properly developed in an appropriate language will lead to discrete assessments.

Training gaps or lack of the appropriate lexicon, lack of knowledge of the analysis tools and the issues related to the discipline in question will lead to sufficientness alone.

Poor knowledge of the scheduled texts, inadequate lexicon, lack of understanding of the criticality of the topic and the conservative problem will be evaluated negatively.

Teaching tools

Pictures, digital images, slides, PowerPoint presentations

Office hours

See the website of Donatella Biagi