The Museo Capitolino and the Origins of the Public Art Museum

FAIN: FA-57757-14

Carole Paul
University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA 93106-0001)

Opened in 1734, the Museo Capitolino on the Capitoline Hill, or Campidoglio, in Rome was the earliest institution of international significance to manifest the most essential characteristics of the public art museum as it has evolved into the present day. Despite the obvious importance of the Capitoline, there exists no comprehensive account of this seminal institution, which preceded by some sixty years the opening of the Louvre, conventionally regarded as the archetypal public art museum. The book that I propose to write will examine the origin and growth of the Capitoline and its influence on the development of modern museums from the formation of the oldest civic collection on the Campidoglio in 1471 to 1869, when the city government of Rome was radically restructured with the unification of Italy.

Associated Products

"Il Museo Capitolino: Il primo grande museo pubblico nell’Europa dei Lumi" in the catalog "Il Tesoro di Antichità: Winckelmann e il Museo Capitolino nella Roma nel Settecento" (Article)
Title: "Il Museo Capitolino: Il primo grande museo pubblico nell’Europa dei Lumi" in the catalog "Il Tesoro di Antichità: Winckelmann e il Museo Capitolino nella Roma nel Settecento"
Author: Carole Paul
Abstract: This article examines the importance of the Museo Capitolino as a major archetype for public museums of art and archaeology.
Year: 2017
Format: Other
Publisher: Gangemi Editore, Rome

“Benedict XIV’s Enlightened Patronage of the Capitoline Museum” in the conference proceedings "Benedict XIV and the Enlightenment: Art, Science and Spirituality" (Article)
Title: “Benedict XIV’s Enlightened Patronage of the Capitoline Museum” in the conference proceedings "Benedict XIV and the Enlightenment: Art, Science and Spirituality"
Author: Carole Paul
Abstract: This article examines the important contribution of Pope Benedict XIV Lambertini (r. 1740-1758) to the development of the Capitoline Museum.
Year: 2016
Format: Other
Publisher: University of Toronto Press

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