Museums are Catalysts for Regeneration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Museums are Catalysts for Regeneration - Essay Example But soon, even animal hides, instruments, portraits and sculptures were also displayed. The Greeks then widened the scope of objects displayed in a museum by exhibiting not only statues and paintings but also jewelries, glasses, vases, pottery and ornaments which they offered to their gods. These were however, transported to Rome when the Romans ransacked Greece. Thus began the Romans' romance with works of art. Then Roman temples, palaces and private villas were adorned with these (Alexander 2008, p.4). Japan and China were not left behind in this cultural activity because even before 1000 AD works of art were already manifested in their temples and palaces. It is worthwhile to mention that in Nara City, Japan many of these had been preserved. vanguard for the reposing of important manuscripts, saints' relics, statues, paintings and jewelries. Feudal nobles, coming from the crusades in the Near East, carried with them spoils of war with beauty and added these to their private collections. But museums reached unparalleled importance during the Age of the Renaissance. The Medici family of Florence, collected the most enviable art treasures ever gathered which they ensconced in their palaces. Later these were transferred to the Vatican and made a part of the Papal collection. Then the Uffizi Gallery in Florence was made the repository of the Medici collection (Bennett 1995, p.27). The first great public museum is the Louvre Museum in Paris, which at that time was basically composed of royal collections of King Francis I. For the first time, a museum was opened to the public in 1793. When the Age of Enlightenment came, more museums were opened for public viewing. Some of these were the British Museum, the Berlin Gallery, the Prado in Madrid and the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg (Steffensen 1998, p.13).