Sharon Greenwell, age 12, of Erie, Pa., for her question:
WHEN WAS THE FIRST MUSEUM OPENED?
A museum is an institution that houses and displays collections of objects of artistic, historic or scientific interest for the edification and enjoyment of the public. Museums as they are known today were first established in Europe in the 18th century.
In 1750 the French government began to admit members of the public, mostly artists and students, two days a week, to see some 100 pictures hung in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. This collection was later transferred to the Louvre.
The Louvre, which had its beginnings when it contained the collections of King Francis I in the 16th century. During the time of the French Revolution, it became the first great public art museum. It opened its doors in 1793.
Museum is a Latin word, derived from the Greek "mouseion," originally meaning a temple dedicated to the nine Muses. Not until the Renaissance was the term applied to a collection of objects of beauty and worth.
The first "mouseion," founded about 290 B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt, by Ptolemy I, was a state supported community of scholars.
The temples of ancient Greece were filled with statues, vases, paintings and ornaments in bronze, gold and silver, dedicated to the gods. Some of these works were displayed for the public to see and enjoy.
So too, works of art could be seen in the temples of ancient Rome, as well as in the forums, gardens, baths and theaters.
Before A.D. 1000, royal collections of art objects were preserved in palaces and temples in China and Japan.
During the Middle Ages, the churches and monasteries of Europe became repositories for jewels, statues, manuscripts and saints' relics.
The British Museum in London was founded as a public institution in 1753, but prospective visitors had to apply in writing for admission. Even by 1800 it was possible to wait two weeks for an admission ticket. Small groups of visitors were limited to stays of two hours.
Among other museums founded in the Age of Enlightenment were the National Museum in Naples (1738), the Uffizi in Florence (1743) the Museo Sacro (1756) and the Museo Pio Clementino (1770), parts of the Vatican Museum complex (1771) and the National Science Museum in Madrid (also in 1771).
Even before the American Revolution, museums were founded in the colonies by private citizens. The Charleston Museum, in Charleston, S.C. (1773), devoted to the natural history of the region, is an example.
The first museum connected to a university was established at Basel, Switzerland, in 1671.