Great Museums of Europe

by Antonio Paolucci

These eight emblematic museums all show their roots in the 18th century European idea of an institution representing the complete development of human culture in a microcosm. Each of the eight... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 8884912709
• ISBN13: 9788884912701
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Skira
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 3.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.4" x 12.1"

Customer Reviews

Great Look at Europe's Best Art Museums

Most people will never see all of the best art museums in Europe. The average person doesn't even know which ones are the best. A typical tourist might have only 2 or 3 chances in a lifetime to see such museums. Without advance planning, wonderful opportunities will be missed. With this book, such advance planning can be successful.Here's an example. For many years, I wanted to see the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Due to the economic and social unrest at the time, we opted to take a cruise ship so we could sleep on board while in the city. At the time, cruise ship passengers could only leave on "escorted" tours. The one to the Hermitage was only a one hour tour! So, we learned to sneak off the boat by pretending to be with other tours . . . and walk down to the Hermitage where we would then spend the whole day. Had we been less intrepid, the trip would have been a waste. Now, you wouldn't have that problem. Here's another example, the Vatican Museums are so enormous and have so many wonderful items that you cannot hope to see what interests you in less than many days . . . and then only if you know what you are looking for. Once in the Vatican, it is very busy and crowded . . . and it's easy to get disoriented. The Louvre has some of the same problem. Both museums lead you to the "all star" items in a four hour visit, but you may be interested in other works instead. Even if you wanted to see the best museums in Europe, your own personal taste would probably lead you to prefer some museums over others. Great Museums of Europe deals with that problem by showing many of the finest art works in each of the eight museums (Vatican Museums in Vatican City; The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia; Louvre in Paris; British Museum in London; Prado in Madrid: the Island of Museums in Berlin; the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam; and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna). You also get detailed maps of where the art works are located within the museums.I was happy to find out that each museum's history is well developed, including the sources for the art collections, who did the collecting, and why and how the museum has been developed to serve modern viewers. Along the way, you will get a sense of how collections of the rich and famous became cultural patrimonies for whole nations. You will also learn about how the art works are displayed to help develop public interest and education.I also enjoyed learning about the history of the buildings that the art works are located in and how the buildings have been changed over the years.Over all, it was interesting to see the large influence that Napoleon had on art museums by wanting to create a modern universal museum in Paris . . . both by taking works from other countries (most of which were returned after the Napoleonic wars) and inspiring envy of the Louvre in the hearts of the leaders of other nations.I was pleased to learn the names and some background about some of the impo