MUSEOLOGY

Course objectives

The main objective of the course is to provide a basic knowledge of the history of collecting and of Museology, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary age. As regards specific objectives, students are expected to learn or assimilate: a) awareness of the different parameters of judgment, historical and aesthetic, underlying any specific choice in displaying objects of art. b) the ability to analyze the display of works of art in the past centuries, and to evaluate their cultural significance; c) an autonomous critical judgment on contemporary display of works of art. In order to pursue these targets, during the course students will be asked to take part actively in the analysis of the display of the artworks in the early modern era private collections and in the contemporary museums. The themes and topics of the course, such as the competencies and abilities to learn, are part of the core curriculum of the Study Programme in Art History Sciences.

Channel 1
IRENE BALDRIGA Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
The course aims to provide the main theoretical and cognitive elements for understanding the evolution of the museum as a cultural and aesthetic elaboration of the individual collector and complex social systems. It will address some methodological issues related to museology and museography, illustrating the phenomenon of collecting from its origins (references to antiquity and the Middle Ages; the birth of the studiolo; the wunderkammern; the noble galleries; the birth of the modern museum in relation to the political and cultural transformations of the 19th century, particularly in Italy, France, England and Germany; US museums; Italian museums after the Second World War; the contemporary era). Particular attention will be paid to the role of the museum today, the relationship between museology and citizenship; the relationship with the public and the evolution of the enjoyment of works of art, including in terms of the use of technology and visitor participation.
Prerequisites
A good background in the history of art from the middle ages to present time.
Books
Maria Teresa Fiorio, Il museo nella storia. Dallo studiolo alla raccolta pubblica, Pearson Italia, Milano, 2018 (vanno benissimo anche le edizioni successive) Maria Vittoria Marini Clarelli, Il museo nel mondo contemporaneo. La teoria e la prassi. Nuova Edizione, Carocci Editore, Roma, 2024. A scelta, uno dei seguenti testi: 1) D. Poulot, Musei e museologia, Jaca Book, 2020 2) B. O'Doherty, Inside the white cube. L'ideologia dello spazio espositivo, Johan&Levi Editore, 2017. 3) P. Duboy, Carlo Scarpa. L'arte di esporre, Johan&Levi Editore, 2016 4) P.C. Marani, R. Pavoni, Musei. Trasformazioni di un’istituzione dell’età moderna al contemporaneo, Marsilio, Venezia, 2012. 5) J. Barrett, Museums and the public sphere, Wiley Blackwell, 2012 6) P. Grinier, Pour une histoire du regard. L'experience au musée au XIX siècle, Louvre Editions, 2017. 7) O. Lanzarini, The Living Museums, Nero Editore, Roma 2020 TESTO IN ITALIANO con traduzione IN INGLESE
Frequency
Attendance is recommended but not mandatory
Exam mode
An oral exam on the required readings.
Lesson mode
Frontal lessons and some laboratories in class.
  • Lesson code1035790
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseStudies in Art History
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year3rd year
  • Semester2nd semester
  • SSDL-ART/04
  • CFU6