museum

Table of Contents

Introduction
History
- Etymology
  - From mouseion to museum
  - Museology and museography
- The precursors of museums
  - Evidence from antiquity
  - Classical collecting
  - Asia and Africa
  - Medieval Europe
  - Renaissance Italy
  - Royal collections
  - Specialized personal collections
  - Collections of learned societies
- Toward the modern museum
  - From private collection to public exhibition
    - Public collections
    - The first public museums
      The Ashmolean
      The British Museum
      The Louvre
      Museums in Rome and the Vatican
      Other European collections
    - The spread of the European model
  - Museums and national identity
    - Central Europe
    - Museums of antiquities
    - Influence of industry and science
    - The United States
    - Other national and regional museums
  - The first museum boom
    - Europe
    - South America
    - Asia
    - Africa
- The 20th and 21st centuries
  - Early period of reassessment
  - Post-World War II era
    - Museums and the public
    - Museums and the environment
    - Museums and public finance
    - New museums and collections
Types of museums
- General museums
- Natural history and natural science museums
- Science and technology museums
- History museums
- Art museums
- Virtual museums
Museum structure and operations
- Building design and function
- Museum organization
  - Administration
  - Management
  - Funding
    - Public and private sources
    - Entrance fees
    - Commercial activities
  - Support organizations
  - Museum cooperation
- Museum activities
  - Collection
    - Acquisition policies
    - Legality
    - Protection of cultural property
  - Conservation
  - Documentation
  - Research
  - Exhibition
  - Educational services
  - Information services

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Last Updated: Jun 03, 2025

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Key People

Petrus Josephus Hubertus Cuypers

Dutch architect

Ryue Nishizawa

Japanese architect

Kazuyo Sejima

Japanese architect

Jacques Herzog

Swiss architect

Pierre de Meuron

Swiss architect

Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier

Swiss architect

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

American architect

Lonnie G. Bunch III

Lonnie G. Bunch III

American museum director

Frida Escobedo

Frida Escobedo

Mexican architect

Franz Boas

Franz Boas

German-American anthropologist

Alfred H. Barr, Jr.

American museum curator

I.M. Pei

I.M. Pei

American architect

Frank Gehry: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Frank Gehry

Canadian American architect

Álvaro Siza: Bouça social housing complex

Álvaro Siza

Portuguese architect

Richard Meier: Atheneum

Richard Meier

American architect

Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers: Centre Georges Pompidou

Renzo Piano

Italian architect

Jean Nouvel

Jean Nouvel

French architect

Rossi, Aldo: Quartier Schützenstrasse

Aldo Rossi

Italian architect

Rafael Moneo: Prado Museum addition

Rafael Moneo

Spanish architect

Norman Foster: 30 St Mary Axe

Norman Foster

British architect

Quiz

Rodin Museum, Paris.

Museums of the Western World

List

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