This thesis, aims to discuss one of the most famous personalities in museology, Paolo Giovio. His collection of portraits at Lake Como, was the first collection to be housed at a seperate building, built for that exact purpose. Because of this, it is now widely considered to be a museum prototype. Created in the first half of the 16th century, it is perfectly placed into the Renaissance, which cultivated a new understanding of art, knowledge, and culture. It changed the way the people thought, with first the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature, and art, as well as new discoveries in science. Of course, the purpose of not only owning and displaying collections, but also of portraits, was starting to change and evolve as well.
Giovio became a rather important personality for all those who were interested in collecting, which is why his museum inspired much admiration and immitation. In the second half of the paper, a few of those inspired collections are described and discussed, with the intention of pointing out that, while inspired by Giovio, they nevertheless were based on different ideas and had different structures and purposes.
|
