MUSEUMS AND THE MUSEUMS PROFESSIONALS IN FRANCE (Muzea i muzealnicy we Francji)

• Authors: Dolinska Magdalena
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

France is a country with vast experiences in caring for historical monuments, initiated by the establishment in 1790 of 'La Commission des Monuments' and the creation in 1793 of a museum open to the public at the Louvre. Works of art originating from confiscated royal, aristocratic and Church collections were made available to French society; from that time on, they were to serve the whole nation as testimony of its past and identity. State policy relating to cultural monuments was to be based on the premise that in their capacity as a national heritage they must be provided with care and rendered accessible to all. At the end of the twentieth century there were 1 177 museums in France: 171- of fine arts, 33- of modern art, 71- of history, 116 - of archaeology, 243 - of ethnography, science and technology, and 543 multi-departmental museums, all with a different ownership status. The year 1945 inaugurated a reorganisation and the establishment of 'Direction des musees de France' entrusted with supervision over all museums under state protection. Successive legal acts regulated the organization of the museums, the status of their employees, and the principles of the protection of the collections. A statute enacted in 2002 declares that the task of a museum is to serve society, and defines the museum as 'every permanent collection composed of property whose preservation and presentation correspond to social interest, organised from the viewpoint of informing, educating and entertaining society'. The statute pertains to museums (today totalling 1 100) deserving to be described as 'musee de France', a name which indicates their high standard. Care and surveillance belong to the Ministry of Culture via 'Direction des musees de France' and 'Directions Regionales des Affaires Culturelles' (DRAC), which since 1977 are held responsible for the realization of state cultural policy at a local level. They also act as intermediaries in establishing cooperation with 'Fonds Regional d'Acquisition des Musees' (FRAM), thanks to which since 1982 museums can supplement and enrich their collections. A resolution from 1945 announced that the museum scientific staff would be subjected to uniform principles concerning recruitment and qualification requirements. At present, museum custodians act as state or territorial functionaries, and their status has been defined by decrees issued in 1990 and 1991 and establishing in detail the range of their duties and responsibilities, principles of conduct, qualification demands, and conditions for recruitment. 'Institut National du Patrimoine' (INP) has been created for training custodians for the protection of collections and museum management. Since 1996 it has been instructing custodians and conservators, conducting courses and training periods, and organising international meetings and colloquies. Certain university faculties and 'Ecole du Louvre', established in 1882, coach for the INP entrance exam.

Keywords

EN

MUSEUMS & MUSEUMS PROFESSIONALS (FRANCE)

Discipline

• ARTS_&_ARCHITECTURE: ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

• Publisher: Krajowy Ośrodek Badań i Dokumentacji Zabytków
• Journal: Muzealnictwo
• Year: 2008
• Issue: 49
• Pages: 329-341
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Dolinska Magdalena

• Magdalena Dolinska, no data

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

10PLAAAA088228