What were paintings used for before museums were invented? In Strasbourg, a unique exhibition answers the question

Today we are used to seeing the ancient paintings usually kept in museums: but when we visit an institution it is often certain that none of the works we see collected there were made for that place. So what were paintings used for before museums were invented? Answering this question is a curious exhibition entitled Avant le musé;ee... à quoi servaient les tableaux? (“Before the museum... what were paintings for?”), on view at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Strasbourg, France, from Sept. 20, 2019 to Sept. 20, 2020.

A project that, reads the exhibition presentation, “stems from a double observation: at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, no work was painted to be kept in a museum. Moreover, the context of origin of the works on display is abundantly ignored.” The idea of curator Dominique Jacquot, chief conservator of the Musée des Beaux-Arts, who worked in collaboration with the institution’s Educational and Cultural Services, was thus to select a number of works from the museum’s permanent collection in order to allow visitors to fully understand the context of origin, that is, the function of the work and the conditions under which it was to be viewed at the time it was created. Thus, there are works from religious buildings or designed to decorate the walls of homes, but these are but a few cases.

Thus, there are works that were made to be seen up close, others to be seen from a distance, still others in special lighting conditions, and even works that were not meant to be seen (the plans, for example).To recreate the different contexts of origin, the museum has therefore thought of some set designs that recreate the original settings of the paintings, designed by the illustrator Anna Griot. In addition, a catalog will allow for more in-depth discussion of a subject that, despite its importance, often does not receive due attention.

The exhibition is supported by Eurométropole de Strasbourg and Fondation Swiss Life. For anyone who would like to learn more or have additional information, you can visit the website of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg.

Pictured: the work Lot and the Daughters by Simon Vouet with the set design recreating its context.

What were paintings used for before museums were invented? In Strasbourg, a unique exhibition answers the question

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