Museography and historiography of the recent past

Abstract

Our idea of what a museum should be often hampers us from seeing the museum in relation to history as an original contributor, which can modify our own notions of the past. The new presence of history in museographical approaches is a striking feature of many museums. The article below explores some of the ways in which the historical significance of an object is not simply tolerated but becomes an integral part of museography. Both museum curators and historians must accept the idea that the museum not only displays evidence of historical knowledge acquired elsewhere but also participates fully in the development of that knowledge.

1 Born in 1931 at Budapest. Studied Hungarian history and literature at the ‘Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences, Budapest. Joined the staff of the Museum of the Hungarian Workers’ Movement in 1961; appointed head of department in 1970 and obtained doctorate the same year. Appointed as deputy to the Director‐General of the museum in 1975. Besides his historical research, interested primarily in questions of classification. In charge of historical museology since 1975.

1 Born in 1931 at Budapest. Studied Hungarian history and literature at the ‘Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences, Budapest. Joined the staff of the Museum of the Hungarian Workers’ Movement in 1961; appointed head of department in 1970 and obtained doctorate the same year. Appointed as deputy to the Director‐General of the museum in 1975. Besides his historical research, interested primarily in questions of classification. In charge of historical museology since 1975.

Notes

1 Born in 1931 at Budapest. Studied Hungarian history and literature at the ‘Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences, Budapest. Joined the staff of the Museum of the Hungarian Workers’ Movement in 1961; appointed head of department in 1970 and obtained doctorate the same year. Appointed as deputy to the Director‐General of the museum in 1975. Besides his historical research, interested primarily in questions of classification. In charge of historical museology since 1975.

1 . This approach has been presented in detail in a research project prepared some time ago by René Berger, Director of the Musée Cantonal des Beaux‐Arts, Lausanne, and Marc Barblan, historian.—Ed.