The first use of "museology"
Recently André Desvallées and François Mairesse published their "Sur la Muséologie" in Culture et Musées (no. 6, 2005). It is an interesting analysis of the history of museology, unfortunately looking backwards rather than ahead.
Desvallées and Mairesse show that the term "museology" has been used much earlier than we knew, or at least much earlier than I knew.
They found the term in a text written by Georg Rathgeber, "Aufbau der Niederländischen Kunstgeschichte und Museologie [Structure of Dutch art history and museology]". This text was published as introduction to a catalogue of the numismatic collection of the ducal museum at Gotha, compiled by J.J. Leizmann (published at Weissensee, 1839). The text was used again as introduction to Rathgeber's Annalen der Niederländischen Malerei, Formschneide- und Kupferstecherkunst [Annals of Dutch painting, sculpture and engraving] (Gotha 1839-1844). It was published in four volumes. In 1844 the first volume was published in Dutch by M.H.Binger at Amsterdam as Beredeneerde geschiedenis der Nederlandse Schilder-, Houtsnij- en Graveerkunst, which included aforementioned introduction.
It appears that the first (?) use of the term museology in German language was followed very soon by the first use in Dutch. The Dutch translation is "Kabinetbeschrijving" which term relates to "inventory", i.e. the inventory of cabinets = museums. Rathgeber defines museology as "the presentation of the order according to which works of art should be kept, and should be described in catalogues".
Georg Rathgeber (born in 1800) was director of the ducal collections at Gotha. In 1824 collections from several castles of the duchy of Sachsen-Gotha and Altenburg were brought together, requiring a scientific programme. In 1875 the ducal collections were transformed into a public museum in its own purpose built building. In 1948-1951 the collections were relocated in the former ducal palace Schloss Friedenstein, where the collections still can be visited.
In 1835 Rathgeber published a catalogue Beschreibung der Herzoglichen Gemälde-Gallerie zu Gotha und vieler im Chinesischen Kabinet, in der Sammlung der Abgüsse von Bildwerken, im Münzkabinet Gotha befindlichen Gegenstände: beim Studium der Geschichte der neueren Kunst als Leitfaden anwendbar [Description of the ducal gallery of paintings at Gotha and many of the objects in the Chinese cabinet, the collection of casts, and the numismatic cabinet; to be used as guidance for the study of art] (Gotha 1835). Working on this catalogue Rathgeber felt the need of a broader art historical framework. So he visited many museums and started to develop a theory of arranging museum collections. As such he followed the footsteps of "museologists" like Winckelmann, Mechel, Thomsen and Linnaeus.
Rathgeber's approach is chronological. He proposes to present works of art according to the period of their manufacture. Art history should be based on the chronology of works of art rather than on the biography of artists.
Desvallées and Mairesse show that the term "museology" has been used much earlier than we knew, or at least much earlier than I knew.
They found the term in a text written by Georg Rathgeber, "Aufbau der Niederländischen Kunstgeschichte und Museologie [Structure of Dutch art history and museology]". This text was published as introduction to a catalogue of the numismatic collection of the ducal museum at Gotha, compiled by J.J. Leizmann (published at Weissensee, 1839). The text was used again as introduction to Rathgeber's Annalen der Niederländischen Malerei, Formschneide- und Kupferstecherkunst [Annals of Dutch painting, sculpture and engraving] (Gotha 1839-1844). It was published in four volumes. In 1844 the first volume was published in Dutch by M.H.Binger at Amsterdam as Beredeneerde geschiedenis der Nederlandse Schilder-, Houtsnij- en Graveerkunst, which included aforementioned introduction.
It appears that the first (?) use of the term museology in German language was followed very soon by the first use in Dutch. The Dutch translation is "Kabinetbeschrijving" which term relates to "inventory", i.e. the inventory of cabinets = museums. Rathgeber defines museology as "the presentation of the order according to which works of art should be kept, and should be described in catalogues".
Georg Rathgeber (born in 1800) was director of the ducal collections at Gotha. In 1824 collections from several castles of the duchy of Sachsen-Gotha and Altenburg were brought together, requiring a scientific programme. In 1875 the ducal collections were transformed into a public museum in its own purpose built building. In 1948-1951 the collections were relocated in the former ducal palace Schloss Friedenstein, where the collections still can be visited.
In 1835 Rathgeber published a catalogue Beschreibung der Herzoglichen Gemälde-Gallerie zu Gotha und vieler im Chinesischen Kabinet, in der Sammlung der Abgüsse von Bildwerken, im Münzkabinet Gotha befindlichen Gegenstände: beim Studium der Geschichte der neueren Kunst als Leitfaden anwendbar [Description of the ducal gallery of paintings at Gotha and many of the objects in the Chinese cabinet, the collection of casts, and the numismatic cabinet; to be used as guidance for the study of art] (Gotha 1835). Working on this catalogue Rathgeber felt the need of a broader art historical framework. So he visited many museums and started to develop a theory of arranging museum collections. As such he followed the footsteps of "museologists" like Winckelmann, Mechel, Thomsen and Linnaeus.
Rathgeber's approach is chronological. He proposes to present works of art according to the period of their manufacture. Art history should be based on the chronology of works of art rather than on the biography of artists.
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